Looking for basic yet beefy multitrack recording software

You mentioned Reaper. For what you've described it would be a good option. Logic Express would also be a good option. Ableton Live is easy to use, but the workflow differs from the first two DAWs I mentioned. You may prefer the workflow.

What is your budget?

Reaper has a full evaluation download that allows you to use it indefinitely. A discounted license costs only $60. To qualify for the discounted license you have to be using Reaper for personal use, making less than $20,000 per year with your music, or be a non-profit.

Logic Express is $200.

Ableton Live is $499.

Options to consider that you did not mention: Digital Performer ($500), Propellerhead Record($150), Pro Tools M-Powered(no clue what this costs), or Pro Tools LE (free with some Digidesign hardware).

A Protools Mbox 2 Mini costs about $300 and comes with Pro Tools LE. That would give you the hardware and software you need.

It all depends on how much you want to spend, and what you'll be doing.

 

My recommendation is "Cubase Eseentials" ($150, there is a "student version" for $100 - exactly the same app).

Perhaps the best combination of "power" and "ease of use" that I've yet seen.

I haven't used another digital audio application that offers better editing capabilities. Cubase makes it as easy to process, copy, cut and paste, and move sound around as using a word processor.

It's got a good mixer and the Essentials version comes with an AutoTune plugin, as well.

 

You wouldn't happen to mean like this?

 

I agree. I have recently bought Cubase 5, student version for €299 ($499 for not-student, student should be -50%, couldn't find it on their site...) and I love it! I tried Pro Tools and Ableton, but I really didn't like the interface and it looked like you hadn't any proper shortcuts or easy-acces menus... Cubase has many versions like the Essentials mentioned in the quote, it's exactly the same as the full version, only you are limited. Compare the versions on the Steinberg site. It's still a bit buggy now, but with the new patches it's getting better and better! Cubase 4 is good too, but that version is more specified for midi and not audio.
I worked with Garageband too, but you're too limited. You can't even move the audio files exactly per sample... So that didn't take long before I switched
First I started with Audacity (best free recording-program). Of course you're very limited and you can't use any midi for some reason, or that was just my pc

So I would strongly recommend Cubase 5, though it's not that cheap.

Oh, but the conservatoire here works with Pro Tools, because they say it's the most familiar program and easy to work with. But that was not my experience.

Hope I could help
Good luck on you're recordings!