I second the recommendation for Reaper. For the technically inclined user it's extremely powerful, but it (and the included powerful, but even more abstract plu

I second the recommendation for Reaper. For the technically inclined user it's extremely powerful, but it (and the included powerful, but even more abstract plugins) often lacks useful defaults. I use and like it a lot. It should be said that a Reaper-License costs $250 if you use it for commercial work (which is still nothing compared to the established DAW vendors).