Looking For a Good Music Creator/Editor

After scouring through the web to try to find a good music creator/editor I am torn. I am trying to find something that I can edit in drums to recorded guitar with, but also something that I can straight up make music with. Something with tons of instruments and something that supports time signatures like 3/8 or 5/7. I don't have the time right now to jump into a program with a large learning curve though so pro tools is not something I can use.


In short I am looking for something that:

*Is able to edit recordings (vocal and guitar)
*take midi input
*record in the program
*add instruments to recordings
*support odd time signatures
*is relatively easy to use
*has the capability to create songs without any out of program recording


Any ideas OCers?

How about Audacity? I haven't had a chance to play with it but I've heard it's a great program. You can also grab it from Filehippo.com but I can't link to the site on my current connection (it's blocked by IT for some reason).

I use audacity all of the time, but it does not have many of the capabilities I'm looking for. It is a great program for simple recording and editing, but not for creation or in depth editing.

As a pay-for option I would say Acid would be a great one, so I hear. I have a friend that has used it for years and loves it. He said it replaced a lot of the hardware in his studio.