Recording studio software can be obtained for free and can also be purchased for hundreds of dollars. The good news is that nowadays you can purchase extremely sophisticated software that would merely a few years ago have cost thousands of dollars. However, it is true that some pieces of recording software are much better than others that are available. However, which is the best? This short article attempts to answer that difficult question.

If money was not a factor when arriving at a conclusion, then it would be relatively easy to produce a shortlist of really good recording studio software products. This shortlist would probably include: Record, Reason, Pro Tools, Cakewalk Sonar, Cubase, Nuendo, Logic Studio, Digital Performer and Ableton Live. It would then be necessary to rate each of them in areas such as detailed functionality, performance, reliability, support, stability and ease of use.

Before concluding your analysis of the software available, I would suggest you need to be clear about how you intend to use the software. Are you looking to produce beats and loops or are you intending to record a live band? Do you want to use the software as a producer or engineer would or do you want the software to effortlessly record your guitar and vocals? This test of "suitability" will help you make your shortlist of recording studio software products even shorter.

Having performed the above analysis, I would come to the conclusion that the "best recording studio software" for me is Record plus Reason from Propellerhead. I get the better of the two worlds I am interested in - Using Reason to produce wonderful beats and Record to effortlessly record my own compositions. However, I am sure many individuals who have already purchased and enjoyed using other recording applications would violently disagree. So the reality is no matter how objectively you attempt to assess recording studio software in the end it is a question of personal taste and subjectivity.

Conversely, what if money is a factor when choosing recording studio software? The following items of software should not need you to obtain a bank loan - in fact some of them are free. Consider: SonicProducer, DubTurbo, Fruity Loops Studio (FL Studio), Audacity, Goldwave and Kristal Audio Engine. I do not believe the cost of any one of these pieces of software warrants a lengthy analysis. Why not enjoy yourself and experiment with a number of them?

Everybody who has used software for recording has their own favourite. They are also likely to be vocal in their support for it. However, it is up to you to decide on the software which is most suitable for you and your objectives. I would suggest you experiment with the free or cheap alternatives until you are sure about the recording direction you wish to take. Then perform the analysis I outlined above and settle on what you consider to be the best recording studio software.