Yep, 909 and 808 packs are definitely good. Gives it that classic feel to the music.
If you have a half decent mic, I suggest recording some stuff, and in different areas of your house as well (or outside). Then pop 'em into your DAW, clean 'em up, maybe add a few effects (slight reverb, short delays, tubes, amps) then export them as a WAV file into a folder. Then in your next project, open them up and try them out
I often spend a whole day, just going around my house or around town and recording percussion (and other stuff).
Some good things to record:
Hand clapping (basic, doesnt sound very much like the original clap, but gives a nice clicky sound. Try layering them at offset times)
Fingers snapping (Again, doesnt sound like much after you record them, but can give some nice sounds, try lengthening them and layering them with claps)
Dropping stuff on surfaces (Try different surfaces, cement, hardwood etc. And different objects)
Whacking the microphone (ONLY do this if you have a crappy mic hanging around. Dont wreck good tech)
Tongue clicking, other vocal percussion (Make them short, and clean them up with an EQ later).
Breaking sticks.
Running down an alleyway (Then cut out the other noise, so you just have footsteps).
When you record something, try pitch changing and granulizing it, can give some nice sounds. And dont skimp out on processing. Make it clean, clear and professional).
You can also use the magic of Google search, and surf around for some free samples. Most of my samples that I have I found from obscure corners of the Web, and I could never trace them back. Personally, I like recording or synthesizing everything, from kicks to vocals to make it sound unique.
But as I said, google is your friend!
