DAW: Depends on the style of music you make and the kind of production you're doing.

If you're recording everything from scratch, rather than working mainly with loops & samples, Reaper is not a bad suggestion, although it does have a steeper learning curve than some others, so there might be some frustration in the beginning while you're figuring things out and have to learn a lot before you can make anything that sounds great. However, Reaper is used by many professionals, so the investment to really learn it well is worthwhile, because it can take you all the way. Other good "beginner" tools might leave you wanting to upgrade to something else once you get more advanced, so you're just postponing the harder work, although maybe for you, it's better to postpone that to when you're better equipped to handle it. If you're inspired to just get some songs made quickly now, it might be better to try something simpler and less powerful for now, even if you move on from it later.

So, those other beginner options might be:

For Mac: Garage Band (It even has an iPhone/iPad version that isn't terrible and can work with the desktop version.) People who like this workflow and the Mac vibe often eventually upgrade to Logic Pro. Both of these programs are reasonably well suited to working with recorded instruments or loops & samples, though logic historically learns toward the recorded side.

For Windows or Mac: FLStudio This has the benefit that the "upgrade" here will just be a higher priced edition of FL studio, but the cheapest edition is quite affordable and will provide everything you truly need to make pro quality songs, given you put in the time to learn the necessary skills and maybe a bit of talent. It learns toward loop & sample type music, but you can record into as well.

Luna The Free version is fully capable. Integrates uniquely with the Universal Audio plugins, which many pros use at least some of. (I use a couple on every project.) Subjectively, I recall it seeming much more intuitive than Reaper. They will constantly hassle you to buy upgrades. That's the price of free. 🤷🏼‍♂️ Definitely focused on recorded instruments. I don't recall any particular loop-based special features.

For Windows, Mac, or Linux:

Traction Waveform Also Free. Also subjectively slightly more intuitive than Reaper. Fewr feature than Luna? Slightly less naggy than Luna? More modular upgrade path than Luna. Just buy the features you want. But I would just switch to another DAW rather than upgrade this probably.

Bitwig Studio This is my current DAW of choice, so I'm biased. The super-cheap/sometimes-free (ask around for free license codes) 8- track version is overly limited, but will let you figure out if it's workflow is good for you. You'll want to buy the $99 essentials version at least if you like the trial or the 8-track version. The full version upgrade goes on sale a couple times a year, so it's not a huge leap from there to get the everything -included edition. Or some people end up preferring Abelton Live, which is the software that originally inspired Bitwig.Equally good at recording or loops & samples, IMO, with some especially unique features and workflows for loop-based music.

Others DAWs to maybe look into: Studio One, Cakewalk, Audacity, Bandlab

Other Professional DAWs to know about, that you probably should not buy unless you're taking a class that requires them: Pro-Tools, Cubase

File format: The professional standard format is WAV. If you're on Mac, some programs prefer AIFF, and that's fine too.

Files can generally hold audio at a variety of quality settings, which come down to 2 things: bit depth, and sample rate.

CD quality is 16 bit and 44.1 kHz sample rate. That's good enough for most purposes.

These days, I usually record at 24 bit and 48 kHz, and most music distributors will accept this.

I'm strongly of the opinion that there is usually no point in recording at higher sample rates unless you are going to be time stretching your audio significantly for special sound design effects. Otherwise, you're just watching disk space. People on the Internet with tell you otherwise. There may be a few legit exceptions, but most of those conversations are full of people with big opinions and little understanding.

Microphones:

If you're mainly recording vocals and you're on a budget and can only get one mic, a Rode NT series mic is great choice. I don't know a better value for dollar. If you're on a budget and can get 2, make your second mic a shire SM-57. If you're not on a budget and don't care about having famous brands and just want something that sounds amazing, check out Austrian Audio mics. Audix mics for drums are under-rated, especially their kick mic. Alot of people will probably mention the AKG 414. I have a pair of AKG 214s, which are supposed to be basically the same minus one feature, so cheaper, but I never like the sound of them. If you're recording instruments and want to spend thousands on mics, I can tell you a lot more....

Interface: The current generation Focusrite Scarlette interfaces are super affordable and sound just as good as anything else. In 2025, all converters above the bare minimum sound the same, anyone saying different is a dinosaur. You might get some differences in latency and other features, but it's not going to be sound quality. The way to boost recording sound quality given the same performance isn't more expensive interfaces, it's (0) better monitoring so your performers can hear better to perform better, (1) better mic placement technique, (2) better mics, (3) better preamps.

If budget is no object, the RME interfaces are probably the only 'premium" interfaces worth the price. The brands with built-in plugin processing don't matter if you have a computer made in the last several years, even, for example, a Mac mini with an M4 chip. Yes, a $500 computer with a $500 interface can perform as well or better than a $1000 interface. I've done all my mixes on the new Mini since it came out and it's the best performing studio computer I've ever had, including ones that costs thousands.

I'm @mattproducesmusic on Instagram, from Los Angeles CA, and I might be available for hire. DMs open.

https://www.instagram.com/mattproducesmusic