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Seconded! You got one. Sorry for being slow on this. Please do not post non-LSC related info on this thread. The thread is for project-related discussion only.

That would be too bad, but we actually did what you're talking about. I did the torrent updates in 2012 and 2014, and we upgraded the encodings/bitrates of more than 500 ReMixes. Some of the stuff you linked to were artists creating new or expanded versions of their tracks, which we wouldn't replace the posted ReMixes with, but perhaps djp would be open to hosting alternate versions in a non-featured way. It's never a bad time to reach out to artists again, but I'll clarify that I already did do this work before from 2009-2014, through a mass email to all ReMixers, and a forum thread where some fans also provided better encodings that they'd saved.

@Liontamer Has a bunch, and we HAVE done outreach to try and get WAV/FLAC from which to re-encode. In addition, when we made the big 2014 torrent update, we upgraded quite a few: http://ocremix.org/info/Torrent_Update_v20141015#Files_with_Increased_Bitrate.2FEncoding_.2851.29 Our plan is to eventually host FLACs, but they may be for registered users only (there'd still be a torrent that was open) & our Patreon backers will get advance access since they're making it possible. First things first, we need to update the site for better mobile/responsive experience, but this IS on the roadmap, for featured mixes!

While ArtsAcoustic is an excellent sounding reverb the developers have MIA for a long time now. Valhalla DSP Reverbs (Room or Vintage Verb) are excellent alternatives at a lower price point. Just demo both and see which one sounds the best. A cheap way to get plugins or DAWs is through the KVR Marketplace. Make sure you purchase from a user who has been a member for awhile and made some posts. There is a feedback section to see if a user has made a successful transaction before.

As a further note, I wouldn't actually necessarily stick with the stock plugins the whole time, and I would be open to adding on or replacing some of them with better external plugins that you get elsewhere. For example, I don't actually think Fruity Reeverb or Reeverb 2 is nearly as flexible as ArtsAcoustic Reverb, and so I don't use them as much as I do ArtsAcoustic, but they are all reverb plugins.

It really just depends on you as a person, IMO. I don't think I'll ever switch from FL Studio because it just clicks with me, and I find the stock plugins (compression, EQ, etc.) to be fantastic on there own (Though stock plugins on any DAW are going to be good) You're just going to have to do a little searching to find good samples and sounds unless you just want to make electronic music. It's great for that. But this may be different for you, you may prefer Reason, Studio One, or even Pro Tools if you're doing a lot of recording. My suggestion is to pick 3 separate DAW's that interest you, and then download the trial versions of all of them. Find what clicks with you the most (What you enjoy using the most), and then stick with that DAW. Learn the ins-and-outs, the shortcuts, the tricks, etc. and learn a whole lot about the mixing process and what everything is doing to your mix. (especially EQ and Compression). I can guarantee you that if you find a DAW that you really like, you won't ever have to switch around. BAD IDEA, unless you're using something like Garage Band, you'll probably want to upgrade that eventually. You can still get great mixes out of it though

It's actually cheaper than all of the other industry-standard DAWs even if you are releasing commercially. It's 60 USD if you make less than 20,000 a year from it (which most do) and only 200 USD if you make 20k or more. Anyway, I can vouch for Reaper. I switched over to using it exclusively like...3 years ago now? Can't go back to anything else. I do wish it had superior video playback, but nothing is perfect.