Protools--vs--????, lost in the digi jungle----HELP!! Options

i am starting from the ground up with a home studio ....i definitly want a mac i have my own website and as well as being a musician/composer...im also an artist

what i need to know is basicaly this;;

what is the best and most cost efficant way to build a home studio that will be album quality and provide me with the warmth i enjoyed with 24 track 2'' tape --is this possible on a budget of a few grand or am i fooling myself??--------is protools the right way to go and what kind of mac is best 4 what im doing-----HELP PLEASE---

[Presto]

"VERY old NEWS"

As Mr T says so rightly, Prince didn't do it with a low budget.

OK alot of people are selling from the net already, but what I meant is that one of these days, with all of us trying, somebody is going to sell a million on the net from an initial budget of just £3000, and all from home. Midnight may not be reading this, but his subject is quite pertinent (OK it's not strictly OS9 but that's where he put it).

"its the user not the audio gear"

Couldn't agree more! I believe my music is good (for the market I'm aiming at) - I must!!

"get the best quality (input) and you will allways get FASTER results"

I must admit that although I'm doing my composing at home, I re-record some parts (with my low budget set up) in a properly sound insulated studio (for free, and just up the road).

"if you only stay with PRO TOOLS ... you will be missing more features in logic audio or even SPV"

Will look into it.

" just put demos online of the tunes"

Of course!! Money, money, yummy, yummy.
Thanks for the encouragement, guys.

PS I use PTLE but, if I understand correctly, it doesn't seem to really matter which of the better apps you use, as long as what you put in is good, all of the links in the hardware/software chain fit together well, none are of significantly inferior quality than the rest, and you don't ruin the original sound by over-working it. Am I right?

PPS Thanks Rickenbacker. Yeah!

"I can think of at least half-a-dozen UK number ones from the past 5 or 10 years that were made in people's bedrooms."

But they were then worked on using expensive equipment?