cant afford the "big dawg" sampletank. what is a good cheap alternative? is does not have to be free or anything just not $300 - $400. The $50 - $200 price range is okay.
Get Hip Hop eJay. The sounds on that thing are a beast. There's actually a scratch on there that was used on the Young Gunz track "Can't Stop Won't Stop".... or whatever that lame shit was called.
wow hip hop ejay? i havent heard that name in a long time. that was the first beatmaking program that i had. i wonder how much different it is now.
as far as a plugin to replace sampletank, i cant think of one specifically but check out http://www.kvraudio.com or searching google for free vst instruments.