Nub questions, help appreciated!

I've been wanting a sampler for awhile now, and due to a lack of expendable funds, haven't been able to purchase one. When I do get the chance to buy a sampler, I want it to be the last one I'll ever need (at least for a looong time). I had planned on getting the mpc500, but I thought better of that and decided on the mpc1000 (seems to return the most bang per buck). But I have a few questions before I drop 1000 wing-wangs (horribly over-priced for the tech btw) on a piece of equipment that I will need to upgrade (HDD, RAM).

With an mpc1k, would it be possible to have a folder of full-length songs stored on an hdd or cf card that could readily be sampled? My ideal setup would be a folder of drum samples (full of sub-folders like "hats", "kicks", etc.), and a folder of full-length tracks that I could browse through and sample at my whim. The goal is to be able to lay down some beats and make samples on the fly, cutting the pc out of the creative process completely. I'm also under the impression that I could chop and pitch shift the samples and assign them to whatever pad I want, while assigning the drum one-hits and loops to pads on the same grid for live play. Is this true? Also, using the grid edit and the methods I just mentioned, could I produce full tracks, then USB them to my pc? I'm also looking for something to give my beats a professional and punchy sound. Have I come to the right place?

I just want to be sure this thing will be the dream machine I think it will be before I actually plunk down the change for it.

first off,,dont spend a grand on a 1000,i just seen one on gc's used gear list for 599
second yes u can make complete tracks as samples but you have to convert them into sample,,,the mpc,uses a diferent format than your comp,,,theres actually a lot that goes into the question u asked,,,,
you can store your songs wherever you want to on ur hd or ur card,,but remember its not just an mp3..its,sounds,sequences,programs,and songs..example: after i make my "song" i have to save all the samples,sequences,files and programs, that equal that one song...but after this is done,the mpc can also convert all of this into one sample..

and for the punchy sound,,,thats all ones editing,,,expieriment till u get what u want....hope this helps man!!!

Having folders to chose from samples (hats, kicks, snares) etc. is great as long as they are short samples. Having a cf or hd installed in the mpc with folders for full length songs is not a great idea, simply because loading the songs will take an extremely long time to do so as loading on an MPC isnt a strong point. Its best if you can do quick editing of the mp3/wav etc. beforehand then transferring it into the mpc to do even more extensive editing.