the daw and the interface

So if you are ready to start your music production at home,
you need a DAW first. DAW stands for Digital Audio Interface.
I recommended Software like Logic, Sonar, MusicMaker, Cubase, Pro Tools or anything
like that.(It's also a matter if you are a Mac User or a Linux User or a Windows User).

I personally use "Guitar Pro 5" for Song ideas, and write it down to midi and listen to the idea.
than i make a simply demo in FL studio. I recommended that program because it's
pattern-based, so it's very easy to handle and to make fast demos out of your songs.
It's a very powerful programm after all. It's perfect to structure your song and your ideas and making a "map" of your song.
For recording the tracks i use Cubase. Some like it, some not. I work with Steinberg's Cubase
the last 5 years so I'm familiar with that, and it works fine for me. For mastering I use Steinbergs
WaveLab. A very good program and you can boosten up the quality of your songs once more.
So you can choose between different DAWs. Trying out a few is a good idea. There are a few Freeware
DAWs and they are good too. You need them just to record your tracks. Not for mixing or Eqing or
stuff like that. A very difficult decision is, when it comes to Hardware.very important. The interface.
I tried a lot the past years, just like Guitar Port 2, or the Alesis IO2, the K-Matrix and
i ended up using the Edirol M-16 DX. Works best for me, cause i need a lot of tracks and i record with a lot of mics,
cause i also do mobile recordings for whole bands.It's easy to use and work with. So you have to think
about what you need, what the interface should do for you, and how you want to work. If you want to record
a whole drumset at home, you need a least, 6 to 8 channels. So it's a bigger Interface.
So If you just want to record a guitar track and your voice in your room at home but you want
good quality, a two-channel interface works fine for you. Think about and buy wisely.
I recommended to buy a Interface which can do "a little bit more" for you, because your
needs in making music will also increase time after time.