Pro-Tools can be a little confusing to understand at first, and we bet it will take you several weeks of using it to understand all the features jammed packed into the software. Our favorite thing about pro-tools is the ease of editing vocals – the quality makes it notably better in this area than others. One thing you’ll want to make sure is that your computer can handle – at least 1 gig of ram is recommended, more if you can so it does not run too slowly.

Learn More About M-Audio Pro Tools M-Powered 7.4

CakeWalk: Cakewalk is another big name in audio recording software, and the company recently has catered not only to professionals but also to those with their own home studios releasing several different versions of their software in all budget ranges. Cakewalk Sonar 8 Producer Edition is their current top of the line software, and features everything you could want in recording software, including the ability to record and create your own drum loops or midi files. The good news is, if you don’t mind sacrificing a few features, you can get many of the Cakewalk Home Studio older version software for less than $100.

Propellerhead Reason 4.0: If you’re aspirations as a musician include playing with midi files, creating loops, and digital sound effects, Reason is the software for you. It allows you to create drum loops, music loops, and offers over 2000 possible instruments to play with.

There’s really very little you can’t create with this software – from piano and guitar loops to adding awesome effects through their numerous phasers and amps. You can set tempos, change audio levels, and play with all of their virtual mixers. You could easily be a one man band with Reason.

At $400 the price is a little steep, but if you love making synthesized sounds and drum loops, many people would say it is well worth it. The interface is a little tricky to understand – you can expect it to take a solid week of reading manuals, tips online, and playing around with it. You’ll also need a separate software for editing the music, since Reason pretty much is designed for making loops and midi-files and doesn’t allow you to add vocals or live instrument recordings.

Learn More About Propellerhead Reason 4.0

There’s also a few 100% free audio recording software programs available to download worth mentioning:

Audacity: If you’re running Windows, audacity is the best you can get for free. Simply plug-in your mic and start recording tracks. You can then add numerous effects such as reverb, phasers, and others. The main drawbacks of Audacity is that fine-tune editing can be tricky, as it can be tough to make sure your edits are staying in time with the music. For the beginner though, it can be a great way to finally record your music, convert to mp3 and share with the world. Download here.

Garage Band: If you’re a Mac User, you probably already have GarageBand pre-installed, though if not you can get it directly for free from C-Net or Apple. It features the ability to record as well as a few pre-set synths and voices you can play around with. Editing is slightly better in GarageBand compared to Audacity, mainly because it has guides you can use to make sure you stay in time.

Have any thoughts on the Audio Recording Software we’ve mentioned above? Do you use something different you’d like to share your review on? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below!