It all depends on what you want to do with it and what the focus of yer production will be. For example, if yer gonna be primarily making beats and not recording any actual live instruments or vocals, then you need software with strong sequencing/prgramming/editing capabilities plus great virtual instruments & samplers. If you'll be doing mainly live recordings, then you should look for software that has strong audio capabilities and excellent routing options. If you'll be doing a combination of both, then you need a bit of everything.
My number one piece of advice would be to avoid ProTools like the effin' plague, especially if yer rocking a PC/Windows. Avid (the company that makes ProTools) is in a severe decline in terms of their business structure & profitability right now; their customer service has always been a bit of joke but lately it's so bad it seems like a prank show on TV, and consequently ProTools is losing users rapidly. Also, there are SO many other options at MUCH more affordable prices these days, it makes NO sense whatsoever to use ProTools.
Personally, I'm a big fan of Reason for numerous reasons, but especially where beatmaking/sampling/looping/programming is concerned. It's ridiculously powerful but really easy to use. You can literally be up & running and making beats within ten minutes of finishing the software installation, but that barely scratches the surface. I've been using Reason since 2.0 (they're on 8.1 now), so it's been over a decade, and I'm *STILL* discovering new tricks and whatnot. There are a few minor drawbacks to Reason; the #1 complaint I hear is that it uses proprietary plug-ins called Rack Extensions and is not compatible with any of the popular plug-in formats like AU, VST, RTA, etc. However, the upside to Rack Extensions is their affordability: much like Reason itself (you can buy the full version of Reason for only $399 USD, whereas ProTools is $899; Logic is $599; and Ableton Pro Full is $799), the Rack Extensions are really affordable. The most expensive one available now is around $150; that's probably the lowest price you'd find for most plug-ins in the other formats compatible with ProTools, Logic, Ableton, etc.
You can download a full version of Reason on Propellerhead's website and it's fully functional, except you can't save yer work or bounce a song down to stereo format until you pay for the software. But you'll get a really good idea of how it works and the high quality of the samples & loops included with the purchase price. That's the one thing I didn't mention: the amount of instruments, samples, loops, & effects that come with Reason is just INSANE. And like the software and the Rack Extensions, you can purchase additional samples, loops, presets for instruments/effects, and other instruments & effects themselves for EXTREMELY low prices, both from Propellerhead and third-party developers.
I'm positive someone on this forum will scoff at my recommendation to use Reason; it gets a pretty bad rap for some reason (no pun intended...haha). I work at a few pro/commercial studios here in Chicago, and nearly all of the engineers laugh when I say I prefer Reason over ProTools, but to me, it's all about what you like and are comfortable with and can get work done with. There are just so many options nowadays, and you should be open to all of them. I'd jump on YouTube and look for reviews for Reason, ProTools, Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Nuendo, Reaper...oh yeah, there's a fairly new addition to the DAW world called BitWig. If yer brand-new to the audio/production world, I'd *HIGHLY* recommend checking out BitWig. Like Reason, it's REALLY affordable, and like Reason, it's pretty revolutionary for its time. Explaining exactly *why* it's revolutionary would take me WAY too long, as I'd have to explain how previous DAWs worked and then how BitWig works and then maybe you'd see the difference. But I say you should check it out if yer "brand-new" to this field because you won't have the limiting mindset that someone who has been using and is used to other DAWs would have.
Sorry for the novel; I hope that helps.