One of the very first questions I asked when I joined Mudcat was "How do I get the sound from my microphone, into the computer"
Darowyn (Dave) as well as many others has been a mine of information.
I happen to enjoy WAV very much by the way. He's a friend of mine on
MY Space .
If you pop in there, you'll find five or six songs, all recorded at home and in various stages of completion.
I am using AKG Perception 100, AKG C1000S, Shure Pencil mic., Behringer C1 & Behringer C2s. I'll be getting a Cascade, Fathead Ribbon mic. in a week or so.
Audio interface... M Audio Fast Track Pro. (2 lines is about all that my 1 1/2 gigs will handle.
Software programme, Mixcraft 4 from Audacity. You should try this.
I have learned much from the folks here and the rest from tinkering around.
Due to compatibility issues with some audio interfaces, I suggest that you do not purchase online.

Dave: Don't make me put my drink down!
Cheers
Jim