Quite rightly nicknamed "the Swiss Army knife of audio", dBpoweramp has long been a staple of PC Pro's Real World Benhmarks. With a no-fuss interface, it supports just about any format known to man via plug-ins. Licensing restrictions this is it. This tiny download is a surprisingly comprehensive multitrack audio recorder and editor; capable of recording a full band, yet perfect for recording a full band, yet perfect for podcasts or simple setups. The number of simultaneous tracks you can make is naturally limited by your hardware inputs but, crucially, there's support for realtime input monitoring and playback while recording, so you can make any overdubs you need. MIDI support is limited, and editing slightly idiosyncratic, but it's astonishing how much this program is capable of.
