Alright, one thing I need and can't find is a music composition program that comes free of cost. Obviously this isn't going to be easy to find at all, but it has to be out there somewhere. If you've ever used or heard of noteworthy composer then you know what I'm looking for.

Is Noteworthy Composer still around?

I switched over from that to MIDI Orchestrator Plus around 1998 and then from MOP to Cakewalk in about 2000--haven't left since.

You get what you pay for, if you want something more feature rich than Noteworthy, you're going to have to consider saving a budget up for something that's more in-line with what you need.

Here is a handfull of sound editing software. Not sure what you need, but if you search for a replacement of Fruity Loops, then LMMS might be what you need.