hey, why dont people list their favourite apps that they use:
my tops have to be:
Mirai/ wings for poly work
Zbrush for fast fun, normal mapping and organic detailing
Animanium for fast character work
Lightwave for workflow (minus the modeling and scene segregation)
Maya is good because it has consistant quality and an interface that i take to nicely and has all the features that i could dream of using for a very long time.
Max is cool though! not my cup of tea but certainly a powerfull tool in the box of oh holy 3d gadgets.
For those into CAD or forced into CAD in my case may want to try out microstation and rhino. Microstation is very versatile app, can open CAD files a decade old with no issues and CAD programs a decade old can open the latest microstation files with no problem.
Mhcannon, do you know anything about XSI in comparison to maya. Ive heard some good things but im not sure what to think of it.
Is Hash animation master a similar type of app to Houdini or motion builder?
what kind of advantages if any do they have over complete apps such as maya max and xsi?
which maya be good or bad
spoken like a true maya addict mhcannon 
Lpriest
FX supervisor - double negative