installing multiple things on my development machine. Are Virtual machines still the way to go?

[Kirsten Greed]

I have a chance to upgrade my development box.  
 
Over the years multiple programs have crept on to my box including 3
versions of SQL Server Express.
 
I am wondering how to be more disciplined in keeping my environment clean
 
Although I have some VMs installed I haven't been using them because they
take so long to load.
 
For trying out new things - like VS2017, are VMs still the way to go?  Or is
there something else  now ( like Docker? )
 
What programs should be "On the metal" ?