Jerry Ylilammi has recently updated several of his free BerconMaps, and added a new BerconGradient map – think of it as the Gradient Ramp map without years of neglect, on Particle-map and Falloff map steroids.
The maps are available for 3ds max R9, 2008 and 2009 in 32bit and 64bit flavors.
Although the plugins are absolutely free-as-in-beer, consider dropping something in the tip jar if you use them.