I am considering purchasing a computer program that I could use to record music here in my home.  It is a hobby of mine, recording myself and others from time to time, and so far I've basically just used a Fostex 4-track.  So this purchase would be a bit of a leap forward in technology for me.

I can't afford to spend thousands of dollars like a professional might.  Can anyone tell me of a good program to look into that might be affordable, and yet is also highly functional?  Ideally, it would be a fairly intuitive interface, as the time I can spend on my hobbies is limited and dwindling.  I want to be able to multi-track, edit, and perhaps add effects.  Nothing more fancy than that, really.

I would appreciate any advice.

Herring405