Replying to Anyone use Reason? Help me out please.

I already posted this in the Media & Arts forum but I figured i might have more luck in NSG. So I'm trying to get into making beats and possibly some electronic music. I just got Reason 4 and Recycle. Is there anyone on here that uses these programs? Do you have any suggestions/hints/tips/tricks that will help me out? I'm a straight up beginner to this--I've figured out some of the basics by reading the manual and messing around in the programs but progress is slow. Also, I'm looking to get a MIDI controller for under $100, any suggestions? I have a macbook if that makes a difference.