Best audio editing software?

Does anyone out there know of any software for processing music files? Say you have an MP3—or whatever other format you're rocking—and the volume levels just aren't quite hitting the mark, right? You want them to sound a bit punchier, perhaps? Well, is it actually possible to fix that sort of thing, and if so, which software would you recommend (ideally something that won't break the bank—basically, free software!)?

Look, this thing is totally free and honestly, it’s a solid bit of software: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Benjamin King2 said:Now, listen—I really must tell you about this! It’s absolutely free software—yes, completely freeware!—and I have to say, it is quite a remarkably solid little program. Honestly, why isn't everyone talking about this? It’s just so dependable! Have you ever found yourself staring at a blank screen, wondering how on earth one is supposed to edit audio without spending a small fortune on high-end software? It is quite the conundrum! But—and this is where things get truly exciting—there is actually a solution that doesn’t involve emptying your savings account. I am talking about Audacity! It is an open-source marvel—truly—and if you haven't downloaded it yet, what are you even doing with your time? It’s free, it’s powerful, and it’s available right here for anyone who wants to dive into the wonderful world of sound editing. Whether you are trying to clean up a podcast recording or just playing around with some music, it really does the job beautifully. Isn't it wonderful when technology works in our favor like this? You can find it all right here: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

So, I’ve got this software—Audacity—installed on my machine, and for the most part, it serves me just fine for the basics, you know? Like, cutting out the dead air or stitching two clips together—that part is easy enough! But when it comes to actually boosting the audio quality or making the voice sound... well, *better*... I am completely lost! It's all a bit overwhelming, isn't it? If it isn't too much trouble, would anyone be so kind as to provide a little explanation on how one might actually go about improving vocal clarity using these tools? And—this is a big one—is there perhaps an English-language tutorial out there somewhere that breaks it down simply? I find it so much easier to wrap my head around things when the instructions aren't overly technical or convoluted! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

If you’re working with MP3s, I guess Mp3Gain is a pretty solid free option.
Whenever I’m burning an audio CD from random MP3s I've grabbed online, I just use Mp3Gain to level everything out.
It’s actually decent because it looks at the total average volume instead of just hitting those crazy peak values.

If you ask me, this is hands down the best deluxe audio editor out there. It’s definitely not free, but honestly, it’s super easy to pick up and just completely straightforward—at least for everything I usually need to get done, like tweaking volume levels, cutting clips, merging tracks, or making those tiny little adjustments here and there.

Audacity☕

I’m quite pleased with Mp3Gain—really am! Though, I have to say, Audacity might actually be the superior choice in certain aspects; it feels much more intuitive and packs in more features than the usual suspects.
In any case, I find myself satisfied with both tools because, if you think about it, they actually complement one another quite nicely! Perhaps Mp3Gain is slightly less efficient, though? I noticed when I tried to normalize everything to that 89 dB standard, some of my MP3 files actually ended up sounding quieter—which is just odd, right? So, I bumped the setting up to 100, and honestly, the results were pretty decent enough.

Hooray! You guys haaaaaave been sooo incrediblyyyyyy helppppppfulllll!

Can I actually cut out parts of songs that have copyright on these programs? I was trying to upload some stuff to Zedge and trim them down, but they wouldn't let me because the song is protected.
How do I get rid of that protection? 🤷

Hi everyone. I need some help and information because I’m a total outsider here. I’m not even sure if this is the right place to ask, so I’ll try my luck across a few different threads. Basically, I stumbled upon a video on YouTube that sounds terrible. It’s a recording of my father’s band—all their studio masters and everything stored at the local radio station were lost during the war, and over the years, their private tapes just ended up scattered everywhere. He doesn't have any of his own recordings left. His 60th birthday is coming up, so my brother and I want to turn this into a gift so he can actually hear his younger self singing 🎙️. Is there any way to clean up the audio, polish it, or do anything at all to improve the quality?

It’s possible, within reason. It really depends on the interference you're dealing with and the quality of your raw files. Most stuff pulled from YouTube isn't exactly studio-grade, and it’s usually mono, which makes it much harder to clean up a vocal without accidentally wrecking the guitar tracks too.
That said, you don't need fancy paid software, and you aren't going to become an expert overnight just by messing around with it. Honestly, if you can afford it, it's probably better to just hire a professional audio engineer—someone legitimate, not some guy tinkering in his garage.

Full disclosure: I haven't worked in this field for quite a while. Technology moves fast, so there might be automated tools now that handle things we used to have to do manually.