Boss 770
I have the Boss 770 and I really REALLy dig it. I do not belive its hard to program. Its kinda a pain in the behind at times due to the small screen, but it is very easy to understand once you get the hang of it. Shuffle patterns? hmm...Not sure about that, I belive it comes with like 400 preset patterns (or some big number). You can find them on Ebay for about 200 bucks....It has a TON of sounds (Drum Kits) and you can record real time (actually PLAY the beats) or step (tell it when to play)...I find it very useful. I have no experience with other drum machines, but cant imagine one being much easier and/or better than this one.