Replying to Good Beginner's Beatmaking Software

Alright, so I posted this in the beatmaking cult, but I guess no one checks there anymore; I also searched the forum to no avail and only threads about mac programs.

I'm interested in making some house/electronic/techno/dubstep but have never done it before.  What programs would you recommend to try out or use for doing this.  I downloaded the demo of Fruity Loops and tried to make some thing but couldn't really, seems like a crazy learning curve.  Any videos/sites you would recommend to help me start off in my beatmaking?