Last Year
I reviewed Pro Tools Essentials and basically killed it. It is harder to use, and at the same time more limiting than GarageBand. It also locks you to a particular piece of M-Audio gear, which is lame.
But…
This year I’m buying it for our lab.
Whaaa??
OK it’s more like this: we are upgrading our computers to Mac Minis. These don’t have mics like the old eMacs we had (yes, eMacs). So I needed a not-junky mic, but didn’t want the price or cable clutter of an interface at each station. So I chose the M-Audio Pro Tools Vocal Studio, which bundles a fairly nice USB mic (M-Audio Producer) with Pro Tools Esentials.
Will I use it?
Of course I will. Level 2 can now learn mixing and mastering using the right tool for the job. While I personally prefer Logic, PTE will give a similar learning experience at a fraction of the cost.
A good review
To contrast with my scathing mini review, here’s a pretty fair review of all the PTE bundles:
AV Review looks at all three PTE bundles
I’ll update with some in depth looks once the new gear is up and running.
WILL KUHN 
Will,
Enjoyed your review. SoundTree carries PT Essentials. Let us know if we can send you a quote (if we haven’t already :))!
Jim
Jim, thanks for reading! I’m still taking in all the bids from our various dealers – Robin’s been very helpful in getting quotes. Although I can’t always buy from ST, the shopping experience is by far the best!