My DAW of choice is REAPER

(Rapid Environment for Audio Production, Editing and Recording). Reaper is not free, and it will remind you of this every time you hit the button that continues its free trial for as long as you like. Maybe you think you will get one over on the devs by never paying for it, but one day you will want to look like a legitimate producer and not have the free trial window open up in front of your client.

The first things you should do when you install Reaper is go to the project settings menu, file -> Project settings..., and change the playback resample mode to r8brain, and then change the render resample mode to r8brain. Then, save this project as something like reaper projects / templates / DefaultProjectTemplate.rpp. After that, open Reaper's Preferences, options -> preferences, and in the Project tab, select your recently saved project as the new project template.

Reaper is a sandbox. This is true both in the sense that it is an environment which you can shape however you like, but also in the sense that unless you bring some toys, it is basically just full of sand. Reaper's power comes from its ability to accept mods and extensions of various kinds.

Here are some of my favorites. They might take a quick google to install.
Reaper Extensions:
SWS Extensions
ReaPack
Sound sources:
Cardinal
DecentSampler
Vital
Musescore (Not just for notation - also a great way to get realistic orchestra sounds!)
Pianobook (requires DecentSampler or similar)
Effects:
Airwindows
Melda Free FX Bundle
Oril River Reverb
To find more cool free stuff, check out KVR, BPB and the REAPER forum.

I make records for people in West Philly

(I am not currently mastering records, though I have some recommendations for people that do that, if you want.)

I record vocals at CMGV in Glenside, PA.

I record drums in my home studio in West Philadelphia.