GoldWave is good, and there is a multi-part tutorial for it on blind cool 
tech .com.

http://www.blindcooltech.com

Another good one in the $40 price range is Total Recorder. There's actually 
a $13.95 version, but go for the more expensive one. You won't need the $100 
version that gives you the source codes for the program itself.

I don't have the link for that one, but it will show if you google it.

Dean Martineau did a 4 part series about using Total Recorder on his Sound 
Computing subscription site. I think accessible World also did at least one 
show about it.

Accessible World also did a great presentation about how to use Windows 
Sound Recorder, the wave only recording program that is part of Windows. I 
don't recommend using the very limited editing options of Sound Recorder, 
primarily because there is no "undo" button, but once you give it the 
correct template files, it makes great recordings. I use it a lot, but I 
drop the results into Sound Forge for editing.

Just in case you're thinking about Sound Forge, stay away from version 9.x. 
It isn't very friendly, even with the Jaws scripts from Jim Snowbarger. That 
means you will need to search for version 8 or less on the used market, 
where it is scarce and pricey.

Cool Edit was okay, But sadly, it became Adobe Audition. Use Adobe Audition 
only if you have an uncontrollable desire to raise your blood pressure and 
your stress level to their upper limits.

Mike Duke, K5XU