IMO the TLA stuff while decent mid level gear, isn't as good as the Sebatron and nowhere as good as the Great River ... so I would opt for the Great River ...

but is the compressor any good on the waves musician bundle. I think its the rennaisance compressor and eq. Will it be better than the 5051 comressor even though its a plug-in?

I can not say, as I have never used the Waves bundles .... Waaaaay too expensive for me .... especially when you consider the expected life span is relatively short ...

I just use the stock plugs that came with Cubase, which btw are very functional and useable but really don't impart any kind of a sonic signature.

If I want the sound of a good compressor I use my Manley EL OP , Urei LA4's or 1178 going into the box. I have also used these comps at mix by as well sending the signal out and processing it again and returning it back to the DAW for summing and mixing.

I do the same sometimes for reverbs as well ... my Lexicon PCM 60, 70 and 80 all sound much better than any plug I have heard. It sounds much better when I do this but I lose the instant recall ability, so it's a trade off of convince vs. sound quality. If I think a client is going to be coming back with mix revisions over multiple songs, I mix in the box with the stock plugs .... but if I think I can leave the mix up and patched for a few days I will use the outboard..

honestly...i found the new reverbs like the IR1 from waves a little better than the old lexicons...but, it just my opinion...