I'm surprised that Mint doesn't include ffmpeg - if that's the problem. Perhaps it's because Mint is aimed at ex-Windows users who don't use command tools. Try installing it.

You can install ffmpeg in Windows too - I have it on Win10. (Wife uses it for clipping videos.)

The 'libxxxxxxxx' things in Linux (and DLLs in windows) are libraries. You don't call them directly. Programs, such as Audacity, use them. 'Lame' in this thread is shorthand for the encoder - there are other bits to lame. Both those are encoders.