I have a lot of vinyl that I'd like to get onto CD. I think my best bet is to record the music on my computer hard drive. What is the best software to use to do this, and can I get cd quality sound from the vinyl.

You can also use a CD-Rw recorder... But they cost alot...

Welcome to the Forum. There are places that will do this for you and break up the tracks and so on.
AZ

You can use Easy Cd Creator Platinum or ****'s EZ Audio, both are good. I transfer my old breatbeats and 12" records all the time.

You can also use SoundForge to do this. The program is awesome, and you can do just about anything with it. If you are a DJ, you'll quickly see that it's an indispensable tool!

ok if you want to easily transfer vinyl to cd in good quality then hook up a nice preamp, and a sound card with nice adac's. or if you want to, you can get a terratec sound card with nice adac's and a phonp pre amp built in! then make sure u connect the turntable and preamp to the card with high quality cables. make sure u have clean needles and records (if you can, get a cart just for transferring. i use a stant0n 881) and away you go. you'll need an audio recorder. and there are ton's floating around the web for free or cheap. if ur prepared to drop some $$ then get sound forge, or cool edit pro, or wavelab. those three all have nice plugins to help improve the sound of the ripped vinyl.

u wont get cd quality on vinyl because vinyl is not cd quality. you will be able to replicate the sound of vinyl if you rip it to cd.

All the programs mentioned are good...but if you are looking for a cheaper alternative, I've used Cakewalks Pyro 2003 for alot of tapes. It's got de-click, de-noise, EQ and volume equalizer and turns out good recordings in .wav that you can then transfer to another program if you wish.

You should have something better than the built-in sound card that came with your computer. The Terratec Sean mentioned, or an M-Audio card would do the trick. They are made for audio production, have high quality ADacs, and usually the right inputs built in.
It will take some time though. It's not as quick as 'ripping' from CD.
There are lots of programs out there. Most companies have trials you can download. Use what's comfortable for you. For the most part, it's a two step process:
1. Record from vinyl to WAV file in the computer.
2. Burn WAV files onto CD.
Except for that Cakewalk Pyro 2003 program, which will do it all. And for a decent price too.

The best way to record Vinyl to CD is to use a standalone copier. You can hook up through your mixer to control the volumes.

Thanks guys I appreciate your input. You gave me some great ideas. I'll use trial and error with some of them until I get it right.

i preffer not to run any vinyl rips through my mixer. even the most expensive high end console mixers have ****py preamps. you want a nice clean one.

and as for using stand alones. theyre good but you lose the option to play with the waveform tidying it up etc......

And unless you have an $800+ sound card. The Preamp in your computer is not much better.

virtually no sound cards, with exception of the terratec have a phono preamp so that comment is kind of null and void. you can get good preamps if you shop in second hand audiophile markets. try hi fi stores and see what they have. i run an nice old **** pre amp from the 80's it has terriffic sound and cost me next to nothing.