What DAW should I use for music production?

Free options: GarageBand (Mac — surprisingly capable), Cakewalk by BandLab (Windows — full-featured), and Audacity (cross-platform — basic recording/editing). Paid industry standards: Logic Pro ($200, Mac), Ableton Live ($99-749, cross-platform), FL Studio ($99-499, cross-platform), Pro Tools ($99/year, cross-platform). For beginners: start with GarageBand (Mac) or Cakewalk (Windows). Upgrade to a paid DAW when you hit limitations.

Do I need studio monitors or can I mix on headphones?

You can mix on headphones with good results — many professional mixes are completed entirely on headphones. The challenge is bass accuracy — headphones present bass differently than speakers in a room. Software like Sonarworks SoundID Reference ($100) applies correction curves to headphones for flatter response. For the most accurate mixing, use both monitors and headphones — mix on monitors, check on headphones, and compare on consumer earbuds and car speakers.

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