By the way, this is the DAW I own....long since paid for.

https://www.roland.com/us/products/vs-2480/

http://proaudiodvds.com/store/multitrack-recorders/roland-vs-2480-dvd-tutorial/

I have always admired this DAW and still do..... a powerful "Work" station, even now..

If you have a PC then get yourself a good external MIDI/Audio interface, (Steinberg models are good value) as they come with good software controllers.
Get something like Cubase Elements (Which is quite cheap and will suit a lot of users) to get you going, than as you learn more you can decide how you wish to expand. (Cubase Elements can also be upgraded for reasonable price)
If you’re doing a lot of audio, then Steinberg’s Wavlab elements is a good place to start, and you an usually get both Cubase and Wavlab as a package even cheaper.
If you are going to use your DAW in a live environment, then Ableton Live is a good DAW to go for.
There are also free DAWs out there if you just want to try to see what it’s all about.
If you have a MAC then you are pretty much limited to Steinberg and Logic DAWs (Ableton Live should also now work with the latest MAC OS, but check first)
Have fun
Bill

The remarks about MAC can go to the trashcan, allmost all DAW's have a mac version... espescially The leading ones... cubase, ableton live, studio 1, Bitwig, Reason, Pro Tools, FL studio.. its the other way around Logic, Gadget and some others are only available on Mac... so far from the leading developers only Sonar is not available on Mac... but then they are working on a max version...

In the end however, Logic X, offers so much for the money that its almost a steal when you own a Mac.. thats why its so popular on Mac..

There is a reason most of the professional recording studio's still stick to 'ac OSX, altough windows seems to be closing the gap.. they are still not quite there yet.

I am running on a 2011 macbook that still covers everything i throw at it.. works like a charm... making my €1800 investment a €300/year I dont think there is many cheap windows laptops being used daily surviving that long...

Have a look round and you will find plenty of Windows laptops (I know at least a dozen) that are older than that, and they were a fraction of the price of a MAC. (Unfortunately a lot of them refuse to change the HDD even though I and other keep telling them that they are living on borrowed time) Remember, the parts in a MAC are the same as in a PC, it’s only the OS and style design that’s different, thus reliability will be at least the same.

I used to prefer Logic over Cubase, however, when Apple bought Logic they stopped making the Windows version, which scuppered that.

During the 80s & 90s Windows PCs were primarily used in offices and for gaming, whereas MACs were mainly used for film, photo and music editing, and as most users prefer to stick to what they are used too, Windows has had a long road to pull in these users, (Not helped by the fact that Microsoft did not start to concentrate on making their OS more compatible until Windows 7, now it’s just as good as MAC, (Windows 10 even follows the MAC philosophy) on the flip side MAC has made no inroads in to the office of architectural realms, so it’s now under serious pressure from Windows PCs. (The Surface Pro is getting more awards than Apple Laptops)

To be honest, since Steve Jobs passed away Apple has lost its way, and needs to think more outside the box like it used too. (Much like Microsoft when Steve Ballmer took over from Bill Gates, fortunately they now have Satya Nadella who is taking the company from strength to strength)

Bill

Get the studio going.......

Yes, do your research but most of all enjoy the journey

Thats mostly an opinion, and it doesnt rectify the wrong facts about apple you posted...