[MPC3K] where do we go from here?

ok, i figured out most of the functions on my new MPC3000. the interface is intuitive enough for a beginner to create a fresh beat in no time without having to look in the manual to much.

but i find myself on a crossroad at this point. inside my mpc3k are 5 looped 8-bar tracks: 1:beats 2:bassline 3:guitar 4:piano and 5:rhodes
now what is the best way to make this into a song? i can think of 3 ways:

method 1 - live mode: leave the mpc3k in loopmode and record the output with a recorder while turning mutes on-and-of.

method 2 - mpc-song mode: create sequences and move into song-mode. i havn't been in song-mode yet but on most of my machines i never use song-mode. so i would only go there if there isn't a better way to make a song.

method 3: - external sequencer mode: record the loops individually on a mac/pc and (re)build the song into an audio/midi sequencer.

is there another way to make a song?
what method works best?

Method 2 is my answear, I make all possible loop coordinations with the MC in the studio and record rhymes down to disk. Then I go into songmode and put puzzle together. Songmode is way underrated, read a lot of topics like yours ! When im done I convert to sequence, been doing it this way since 1999. Easy as pancakes.