I like audacity for simple things. Really easy entry into the NLE audio scene. If you're real nice, and your music involves a lounge swank vibe you could be the first non-T57 band on our pimento record label.

link to audacity tutorials.

For the swinginest sound..it's Eric @ Sacred Heart's crying room hands down.

Best advice...the cleaner you record the more f'd up you can make it in post

Subquestion: Does anyone know any great Audacity tutorial sites? (I'm having a hell of a time using it to clean up vinyl transfers....)

I've been an Audacity user for a couple years now. Simple, functional and robust enough for my limited needs (bootlegging mostly). It gives you control over multiple tracks and has a decent feature set in terms of post-processing.

In terms of how-to advice I'm not so sure any is really necessary. Plug a mic into your machine and jam away. You'll need to do some sound card trickery to use two mics at the same time. Otherwise you could record just the guitar track and then play it back through headphones from an mp3 or tape deck while recording the vocals into the computer.

I'm guessing your a PeeCee user because most people unfortunately are. Although if you're a Mac user you should look into using the software included with later versions of OS X called Garage Band. It is designed to do exactly what you're looking to do and is very simple to use.

The USB gadget manufacturers say that a USB gadget will give much superior audio quality, and there probably is a difference.
The tricky thing with plugging direct is getting the right input level for the guitar (and sometimes for the mic). If it's too quiet, try running through an effects pedal first - sometimes that'll give it more boost even in the bypass mode.

Garage Band alone is almost worth the cost of a Mac mini.

you might consider a cheaper and more user friendly alternative in the line 6 guitar port. it costs around $100 and has a ton of modeled guitar amps and effects. it features a quarter inch input, which takes care of your interface with the computer. then, as long as you have a mic cord with a quarter inch jack, you can record vocals with it as well. this device also comes with a very rudimentary recording program. it is simple to use and actually sounds good.

you might consider a cheaper and more user friendly alternative in the line 6 guitar port. it costs around $100 and has a ton of modeled guitar amps and effects. it features a quarter inch input, which takes care of your interface with the computer. then, as long as you have a mic cord with a quarter inch jack, you can record vocals with it as well. this device also comes with a very rudimentary recording program. it is simple to use and actually sounds good.

Ok, well assuming you have a PC. Use audacity. Record onto mono tracks 16bit (it will help and you can only record 16 bit anyway). Get an adapter for your audio input so you can plug stuff in. To record audio with a microphone you need some type of preamp to boost the signal. You could probably get a cheap radio shack type mic and it could go right into some type of mic input. You could record the vocals and an amp from a guitar. Just remember to have the loudest noise not 'clip', which means reach the top level of volume while recording.

Ok, if you want to do it right, then just get an mbox. It includes pro tools and has the correct preamps and inputs you need for anything (2 tracks at a time).

I'd get an mbox and go through the needed tutorials.

If you're running Windows, take a look at Cubase Studio, Audacity is certainly worth the asking price but it's very limited. If you're on a Mac take a look at Garageband, it's free with new Macs and will do everything you need. As for audio interfaces, there are hundreds out there from super cheap to very expensive. I use Metric Halo but they're Mac only and expensive. Which ever one you get, check it also has an instrument input; most will do a line in (i.e. from a CD player or synth) and a mic in but the output from a guitar or bass is different again and needs it's own input. Also check if it has phantom power if you want to use condenser mics.

A lot of this stuff is also down to personal preference. Given the choice I'd never use an MBox and ProTools but some people like it. Other people like Logic but I find Cubase to be the best but I'm doing this for a living and need the features Cubase has.

For basic recording you really can't beat Garageband. I use it for writing because it's very quick and intuitive and then transfer the project to Cubase for the serious recording and mixing.