I don't think there's a right answer, but I think it might come down to budget. If you want to pay $1000 for an off-the-shelf drum machine, sequencer, or synth, modern musical hardware is pretty easy to use and you can go far. However, live-coding software is free software and open source. As for ease-of-use, I think it really depends on the person. If you have some programming experience, then a live-coding musical environment might be fairly easy. It's a different set of challenges.

A physical device such as a "groovebox" might be interesting for you, they include sequencing, drum machine and synth in one box, much like teenage engineering's OP-1 (which is expensive and modern). One I'm looking at getting is the Roland MC-505. Some people will say they sound this or that, but listen to some demos people have put on youtube and decide for yourself. Think they go for less than £300, and you can make a whole album on one.

If you have an iPad, GarageBand for IOS is an absolutely incredible start for that kind of thing. Or Korg Gadget, or UVI Beathawk. They act like the physical ones but have more features and cost way less--you've already paid for the hardware.