ok, well to answer the question in the briefest way possible.
Look at 2 factors.
time
and money
If you have a lot of money to throw around, and a lot of time to invest in learning all the equipment as well as production technique, then get hardware and software. But a decent mixing desk and a reasonable plethora of keyboards and samplers, means a lot of money and a lot of learning time, but good end product.

Software is cheaper, comparatively, although a high power pc, good nearfields, and soundcard are always necessary first. Due to the system being all kinda together, it`s probably got a quicker learning curve too. But you don`t get as much cool stuff to look at, and you need midi controllers to get nobs to tweek.
Results wise, if you know what you are doing, both are good.

These days, I wouold say go software. As I suspect you want quicker results.