1. It has an easy learning curve.
2. It has advanced features for those who want them.
3. It is free.

Download Audacity here:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/

There are Windows, Mac OS 9 or X, and Linux/Unix versions available. You will also have to download the LAME MP3 encoder which allows Audacity to export MP3 files. You will see the download link for that on the same page as the Audacity download for the operating system you have on your computer.

Recording your voice with Audacity is very simple and the website provides easy tutorials and additional help here. Download the program and review the clearly written help information.

First things first, you need a computer.      

After a computer, you'll need a microphone or audio recorder, which is available by filling out the AV Request Form. Sacred Heart University issued IBM and MAC laptops have a camera and microphone built into them.

If you don't have one, or want to use something that cancels out noise a little better, you can buy an inexpensive one  from any electronics store. Headphones are a nice option if you want to hear your recordings played back without the additional desktop speaker noise, but not necessary.  You can opt for the spendy ones, or just use ones borrowed from your portable CD/Media player.

To begin recording, just go up to the File menu and select New.  If you'd like to test your microphone input level, just click on the microphone icon on the far right, then start talking.  You should get a red bar going across, letting you know if you're talking too quietly, or too loud.  The bar should reach most of the way to the right, but not stay completely red.  If it stays red, move away from the mike a bit or turn down the level using the input volume control located just below the microphone icon.  The rest of the program is pretty easy to navigate.  To record, click the button with the red circle.  To stop, click on the button with the yellow square.  To play, click on the green arrow.  Have fun figuring out all of the effect controls for sounds and track mixes, as well as editing features of the program.