I thought I would list all essentials for backing up your CD's,LP's and cassettes(all free):
Audacity,a good analog recorder and audio editor:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
CDex,an excellent ripper,encoder,analog recorder and player:
www.cdex.n3.net
CDWave,great for recording analog and splitting tracks:
www.cdwave.com
Mega MP3 Splitter,an easy to use MP3 splitter:
http://digilander.libero.it/mega27/mp3split/
MP3Gain,to "normalize" volume without clipping:
www.geocities.com/mp3gain/
BurnatOnce,a free burning app:
www.burnatonce.com
CDBurnerXP,another excellent free burning app:
http://w1.878.telia.com/~u87812405/