I'm ashamed to say that I am a total cheapskate about VST effects and instruments. So far, the only ones I've ever paid money for are SampleTank and Amplitube, and I got both of those used. Everything else I have is free stuff that I got from KVR audio (
www.kvraudio.com) or that came with my sequencer. I did just buy a Wiozooverb bundle, though, and I'm waiting to see how that is.
I'm in sort of a similar boat to you. I'm just finishing off a project I helped a friend of mine with. So far, I've used mostly free stuff (or stuff that was incldued with Tracktion 2). Perhaps a real recording pro would look down on the free VSTs I use (with some reason), and admittedly they're not always gonna compare with the top-shelf items, but you can get listenable results with some freebies without putting yourself in the poorhouse.
Ones I find myself using a lot are the free ones from Kjaerhus--Classic Reverb, Classic EQ, Classic Compressor, Classic Master Limiter. Also the Anwida Soft Reverb DX Lite (or something like that), some of the free Voxengo things (Old Skool Reverb, EssEQ, SPAN, StereoTouch), the GlaceVerb.... I also just downloaded a couple of exciter/enhancers, Dominion and Xcita, but I haven't had a chance to really check them out yet. I haven't been looking at mastering/final mix touchup VSTs too much, because my buddy is going to have the thing professionally mastered.
But anyway, go over to KVR and do some searches. And be sure to read the user reviews, if there are any. They're not infallible, but they can give you some ideas.
