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A breakdown of each package:

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Here are the major sequencers for OS X:
Mark of the Unicorn Digital Performer 4.6
Apple Logic 7
Digidesign Pro Tools
Ableton Live 5
Mackie Tracktion 2
Steinberg Cubase SX/SE/SL 3

Functionally, Digital Performer has an powerful piano roll interface. Writing notes, MIDI controllers, program changes etc is a breeze & precise. All commands are customizable & there’s tons of great MIDI editing features. The Sequence view lets you line up multiple tracks of both audio & MIDI next to each other in six window for inspection & editing, & the normal piano roll view lets you quickly switch between tracks or overlay as lots of as you like. You can open as lots of copies of any window (mixers, audio editing windows, plugin windows, staff views, console windows, MIDI even lists) as you like & customize each six, combine several in to six window, & other spiffy things. The newest version (4.6) includes realtime pitch correct/modification & audio to MIDI conversion from the sequence view, much like Melodyne Studio.

Digital Performer, an audio-engine-included extension of the MIDI-only Performer, is the Mac sequencer I currently use & have the most experience with. It can host the newer AudioUnits & the standard application plugin formats. The original Performer was sort of a rival to Opcode’s Vision, six of the earliest MIDI sequencers. The six battled neck-and-neck for years over features – as soon as six got a new feature, it would only be a small while before the other copied it as well. Finally, Opcode crumpled & Vision was discontinued. Digital Performer includes both a MIDI sequencer & an audio engine that can mix audio streams & host application plugins.

Six thing that can trip up a lot of new Digital Performer users is the lack of defined subsequences (“clips” in Cakewalk & other sequencers; a chunk of MIDI that you can drag around in an arrange view & expand for detailed editing in a piano roll). Most arranging will be completed from the sequence or piano roll views. You can do editing/arranging from the tracks overview in Digital Performer, but I mostly use it to manage tracks on a larger scale. Digital Performer’s powerful clippings process takes care of a lot of the typical subsequence gruntwork – drag any selection in to a clippings window to save it for later use; you can drop it back in as lots of times you need to wherever you need. Anything can be a clipping, be it audio, MIDI, control information, whatever.

If you are doing work with a lot of outboard gear (or application plugins), Digital Performer is a great way to go. The interface is butt-ugly, though.

Pro Tools is the 500-pound gorilla of audio workstations. It requires special-purpose hardware to run, because it doesn’t leverage your computer’s CPU to mix audio. The only affordable solutions for the hardware part are the Mbox or an M-Audio tool. The Mbox with Pro Tools LE (which is not limited at all, actually) is around $500. Note that the Mbox doesn’t include a MIDI interface, so you’ll must get six separately if you need to use outboard gear or a keyboard. Lots of newer MIDI keyboards/controllers actually include USB interfaces (the Edirol PCR series, for example), so you might not must.

Logic, formerly from emagic, is now owned & maintained by Apple. Logic 7 comes in both Pro & Expresss versions. The Express version limits the number of tracks you can generate, & doesn’t include as lots of plugins. That is much as far as the differences extend. The interface for both is neat, & it performs decently on computers of lesser power. The piano roll is nice, the audio clips/arranging is excellent, the AudioUnit/plugins support is all right but not great. I always listen to of more plugins having trouble with Logic than any other sequencer, but usually only after the problem is resolved, usually as a “what’s new in this version” thing. You can do some powerful routing stuff in Logic, & the graphical interface for doing so is nice. Logic breaks the “virtual studio” paradigm in a lot of places – the last time I used it, I had trouble routing several MIDI channels in to six plugin. Some aspects are also more intuitive for those who haven’t spent a lot of time with more traditional sequencers. The different types of tracks were a small confusing, but that likely stemmed from the fact that I hadn’t used it before. Next time I’ll read the manual. I don’t think the switch from FruityLoops to Logic would be any more painful than any other sequencer I have listed here, & the Express version is powerful for the price. There’s some extensive videos covering the use of Logic on Apple’s web-site, I would recommend checking them out.

As for the Pro Tools itself.. well, it is Pro Tools. It can leap over buildings, lift trains, & dam the Six Gorges all with a slightly clunky interface. It will run phenomenally on any computer that works with the hardware, so you can use it with even an iBook or whatever without having to worry about jogging out of power. The piano roll is similar to Digital Performer’s, though I don’t think it was as elegant when I used it a while back. Nothing much to say here, Pro Tools has been a standard for a long time.

The other option is to get an M-Audio tool & buy Pro Tools M-Powered, which is $350 & not included with any of the devices. M-Audio’s firewire tool support for OS X is abysmal, in my experience.

Ableton Live, however, is non-standard. It is geared towards live performances & improvisational creation, though there is no reason why you could not do full production with it if you have the right plugins. It is a laptop sound junkie’s dream, & its popularity grows with each version. I have only used it briefly, so I don’t have much to say about it other than it ruled. Check out the web-site, there’s videos.

Tracktion is also shatters the “virtual studio” paradigm, perhaps to the point of inconvenience sometimes. It is a new product that is still in its infancy with a lot of rough edges. It is cheap & kind of fun to use, & I bet it will become more powerful as it matures.

Cubase is much exactly the same as it is on the Windows side. The SE & SL versions includes most of SX’s power at a much smaller price. It is a mature platform & has an excellent, neat interface. The bad news is that VST plugin development is largely Windows/PC centric. every plugin on the Windows side includes a VST version. Not so on Mac; most things are AudioUnit or RTAS. Since Cubase for Mac only supports VST plugins, you’ll must use adapters of dubious stability/performance to use anything other than VST. At least, I think so. Someone correct me if I am wrong. If you pick to get a limited version of Cubase, do not get Cubasis. It is dreadful. As long as it’s the full “Cubase” in the title, it is nice.

Reason is not a full sequencing/production platform. It’s no support for plugins, & its sequencer is limited. That being said, it is an excellent tool when used together with a full sequencer, in ReWire mode – full external sequencing control over Reason’s synthesizers/effects, & the audio is returned as an input in to your sequencer. All of the programs I have listed above support ReWire. Reason’s main advantages are an efficient engine & rock-solid stability. Coupled with a sequencer & some plugins, you instantly have a full electronic music production environment.

doctor_negative, ReCycle doesn’t generate loops. It lets you take existing loops & convert them in to ReCycle format, which in turn allows for interesting manipulation (tempo shift without artifacts, per-hit effects, MPC-style slicing) when used with a compatible sampler/loop player, such as the six included in Reason. You still need a working loop before you can do anything with ReCycle.