This is what David Thomson had to say about converting old phonograph
albums to CDs in a 5/6/2005 note.


As we are are packing to leave for Boston, I remembered that you asked about
conversion software.  I have three programs, all obtained off the web.  I think
that they all had 30 day free trials.

The best for converting analog signals from a phonograph player to digital form
is DC-Art Millenium, version 4.83.  This has a lot of click and pop removing stuff.
This was the expensive one.

The best for editing audio files and converting cassette signals is Total Recorder 4.5.
It is particularly good for looking at the waveform and making splits and fades.
I have a lot of stuff that was recorded off the air or spliced together without the
usual dead space between tracks, and this is good for fixing that.  It's also good for
automatically fixing the volume levels on a compilation of tracks from various sources.

The best for "ripping" stuff from CD or MP3 to make your own compilations is
Cakewalk Pyro 3.0.162.  These latter two programs cost something, but probably not much.
They all have the usual registration scheme after the free trial is over.

All of this stuff is at least a couple of years old, so you may want to check the web
to see what's new or available for free.  I can give you the programs, but I think that
they quit working after the free trial...