Hi Glen,

I use Cakewalk Audio Pro 9 as my MIDI / Audio recording 
software. I consider
it to be a 'tape recorder' whether I record MIDI signals or Audio 
signals,
and I use it just like I would use a conventional tape recorder.
The input device to get both MIDI and Audio into the computer 
is a simple
Creative Soundblaster Live card (which can be bought in the UK 
for £40 (say
60 USD).
The beauty of the SB Live is it's Soundfont capability which replaces 
the
need for any external sound module. It's a sound module and high 
quality
sampler rolled into one and it has Line in, Mic in, Line out, MIDI
( in and
out) as well as an S/PDIF digital output (some versions have both IN 
and
OUT).
All of the recording is done within the Cakewalk program as well as 
mixing
and track bouncing and adding effects. You can even record MIDI 
tracks,
manually tidy them up and then record them as audio so that you can 
add good
reverb etc.All audio editing can be done manually inside Cakewalk (eqivalent
to the old razor blade method with tape without the wory of making 
a cut in
the wrong place!!)
It's advisable to monitor direct rather than 'off tape' because of latency
problems but that's really getting too deep into the 'nitty gritty' at this
stage.