M. Ted, you took the words out of my mouth about recording. I agree with Ron that it's probably not wise to invest a lot of $$ in professionally recorded CDs before your writing, singing, and/or playing is worthy of that expenditure. That could be like putting an Armani suit on a mule.

But I think RECORDING yourself and LISTENING to yourself is a great way to hear what's working and what's not with your songs and performances.   Also, home-made recordings -- which are getting better and cheaper every year -- are great for sharing your songs with other musicians and getting feedback on them.   Besides, if you're gonna register your copyrights, a tape or CD is probably the easiest thing to send in.

I also disagree with the idea that you "shouldn't" sing (record, perform, write, etc.) if you're "not good enough." Who was it who said, "Anything worth doing is worth doing badly"?

Way too many people are deprived of much of the music in their lives because they were told they "couldn't sing" or "couldn't play."    If you're not good enough, you're not going to get paying jobs, but some people never really get good till they've bombed quite a few times, gotten over their stage fright, and developed a strong stage persona by doing - and surviving - that.