New to MusicBee, (A refugee from Media Monkey) reading through the forums, and thought I'd weigh in. I notice I have some apps not mentioned earlier, and this way I can feel like I'm contributing.
My job is mostly Support in a Microsoft shop, so I'm stuck in Microsoft land. I'm almost exclusively Windows 10 at home, with Windows 7 at work. Compatibility with work, and needing to know Microsoft keep me out of other operating systems; I just don't have as much opportunity to play any more. I used to use free office suites at home, but found that when I had to work on things from work, it was never pretty. I gave up, and started paying for an Office subscription. It's a great deal if you have a kid in school, and a wife who needs to do stuff for work too.
Notepad++ - I just leave it running because somehow I always need it. I find a lot of open tabs with information, or text I just needed temporarily. Literally, the first thing I install when I get a new computer.
OneNote - I used to use Evernote, but OneNote works seamlessly across all my personal devices with less fuss. The best part is how well it works in the browser while I'm at work.
LastPass - Used to use KeePass, but it was a major pain to use while I was at work. LastPass with the FireFox plugin is almost perfect. I don't even know what most of my passwords even are. I use the paid version, and can't imagine life without it.
XMarks - I always hated trying to keep track of favorites. Now, I don't have to unless I'm on an unfamiliar computer, and even then, I can get to my favorites from the website.
Lightroom - Is there anything better for keeping and processing pictures from your DSLR camera?
Private Internet Access - Because it's nobody's business but my own where I go on the internet. Inexpensive, fast, and easy to use. I install it on my laptop for when I'm out and about, and have it on my Linksys router for when I'm not. It's also handy for those times I run into a YT video that isn't available in my country. Quick couple of clicks, and suddenly I can watch that video.
Photoshop Express - For the times I'm on my tablet and want to work with some pictures.
Fruity Loops - Because I also sometimes like to pretend that I am a musician. Since I don't use this as often, I appreciate the fact that it's a lifetime license.
Bamboo Paper - I often use this on my Windows 10 tablet, because sometimes you just want to be able to free-form draw to get a point across. This is the fastest way I've found to just start making marks on a blank background.
Free FileSync - For backing up data to external drives. (No one likes taking backups, but everyone loves a restore.)
Greenshot - For screen capture when I'm on a personal computer. It's free, and makes it easy to capture an entire window. There's a better app on the Work computer that I can't remember the name of, but that one is expensive, for not many more features.
AutoCad 360 - Great tool for 3d design. Once I get a 3d printer, I'm told it's possible to get from this app to a piece of plastic. I'm in the third year of a student license, and Autodesk is changing their licensing, so this may be changing in the near future. It looks like "Fusion 360" is where I'll end up.
Mp3Tag - I used to use this back in the day when I got new music. Now, I find I'm back in it to fix the damage to my tags caused from years of Media Monkey abuse. I've had the Monkey off my back for week now, and regret I didn't move sooner.
I do use other software, but this is all the stuff that gets installed when I find myself in a fresh Operating system. Anything else gets installed if I need it.