Well it didn't take long till I had to have a macro lens after my Butterfly House experience ... Still I was not really prepared to pay the big bugs on a Nikkor MICRO 105 f/2.8 VR so I first looked into 3rd party lenses, but in the end came back to Nikkor. I just love the VR option. Yes, most Macro work probably is shot with a tripod anyhow, but still I love the possibility to shoot a little critter or flower during a hike with light gear and no tripod around.
Taken this into account there is really not muc out there. The new Sigma 150 with OS sounds promising, but in the end this is a pretty specialized lens for a DX sensor. I love the idea of getting lenses that help me in various situations and the 85mm for me is just more usable for portraits, etc. The f/3.5 is a little slower, than the real pro lenses, but in the end it is only half the price and for the price I am certain I bought an awesome lens. I would not have taken the lens into considerations, if not because of Simon Stafford pointing out the lens.
so be prepared of quite some macro shots in the time to come :)