Audio editing can amount to simple tasks like trimming silence from the end of an MP3, to incredibly complex multi-track audio production. The applications presented here are capable of both, although I'm stretching a bit to feature some of the better free solutions because so many readers chose Audacity as their favorite free audio editor. While I agree that Audacity is outstanding at what it does, there are times when having a 2-track editor can be less frustrating, with that in mind, here are the reader choices for best free audio editor.
Reader's Choice: Audacity won the audio editor category for the reader's poll with a landslide 77% of all votes. It does multi-track editing, handles most effects and custom audio tweaks, and is actively developed. If you ever need help with Audacity, there's also a very friendly support community. In addition to a Windows version, there are also Mac and Linux installs.
2) Wavosaur came in a distant second with 2% of the total votes. It's a great 2-track editor, with support for VST plugins and the ability to edit any file you throw at it.
3) WavePad hasn't received an update since 2006, but it doesn't necessarily need one. It edits audio files easily enough and if you need more features, you can always download Wavosaur instead. 1.5% of readers picked WavePad as their favorite audio editor.
4) Free Audio Editor received 1% of votes. It's quite similar in features to WavePad and Wavosaur, although the interface looks slightly nicer. The one downside to this app is you need to purchase MP3 output support.
The remaining 18.5% of reader's votes are distributed across the rest of 91 apps submitted in the audio editing category.
