Apple GarageBand (for Mac)

GarageBand offers easy music recording for novices and pros alike, and it comes free with every Mac. The app is still the best way to learn piano or guitar on a computer and easily earns our Editors' Choice nod.

Track View

GarageBand gives novices and pros alike easy music recording features, and it's built into every Mac.

Loops

GarageBand now comes with several thousand loops to get you started recording.

Library

The instrument library is packed with sounds, not just for virtual synthesizers and drums, but for settings when recording vocals, guitar, and bass.

Library (Continued)

There are also excellent sampled instrument sounds, such as this acoustic guitar.

Smart Controls

Smart Controls let you tweak sounds in real-time; you can now record those movements as automation data.

Drummer

Drummer is a virtual session player plug-in that accompanies your tracks with one of 28 players; drop one on a track, and you'll get an automatic groove you can tune in real time to simplify or busy up the playing.

Master Track

A basic track-mastering feature lets you control overall mix compression, EQ, and (to get your average levels higher) limiting.

Amp Modeling

Guitar and bass players can plug in and choose from a selection of 28 instrument-specific amps and cabinets with a choice of several microphones.

Stompboxes

There are also 35 included stompboxes and a handy tuner for guitar players.

Learn to Play

GarageBand comes with 40 free basic guitar and piano lessons you can download; to get started with these, click Learn to Play in the New Project window.

Artist Lessons

There's also a somewhat sparsely populated Lesson Store, featuring famous artists such as Sara Bareiles, John Legend, Rush, and Sting playing their signature hits and showing you how; Artist Lessons cost $4.99 apiece.