I metioned Band in a Box in another thread somewhere. Can be a very useful tool.
I have been using EZdrummer. For a few reasons. It is so simple to use even I can do it, You can choose not only from various
preset kits but you can individually change any of the components. So you have a choice of different snares, crashes etc... Then you can choose whether the lkits should
be roomy or dry to the point where you can mix the kit yourself and alter each component individually again.
Plus there's cool add-ons like the Drumkit From Hell or Vintage Rock which would suit your purposes perfectly. If you have a keyboard... instead of useing one of the myriad
patterns that there are to choose from, you can play your own pattern. Of course you can program the drums as well but like you say that is so boring and time consuming.
EZDrummer is well worth looking at.
I'm going to have a look at Hydrogen, thanks for the heads up with that one