The easy, cheap route to recording.

[OUTLANDAH]

I'm looking into buying some stuff to get recording done. I have a laptop that's capable of running anything I want (asus g74sx) anyways, I have sure sm57 mic, no mixer, no program. What would be some ideal stuff/programs to download just for recording? Anything I can pirate?

[Chovie D]

bare ass minimum you need some kind of interface. cheapest? im not sure but line6 ux1 or ux2 is fairly cheap. its only two inputs tho. check to be sure it work with laptop first.

program (DAW): I dont know anymore, is reaper still free?

[dogfood]

http://tascam.factoryoutletstore.com/cat/36211/Tascam-PC-Audio-Interface.html

I used to own a US-144mkII, cheap, sounds great, comes with Cubase LE4 which will do whatever you need it to.  Highly recommended.

[AgentofOblivion]

I like Reaper for software--it's an unlimited free trial (read:  it's free unless you decide to pay for it) and it's high quality.  As others said, you will need an interface that converts your Shure signal into a digital one your software can recognize.  My friend uses Pre-Sonus and is really happy with it, but there's probably cheaper ones with lower quality ADCs.