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"Is there any Windows software similar to GarageBand?"
Questions about where to find a GarageBand equivalent for Windows pop in my inbox on a regular basis. My answer in the past has always been Sony Acid is great for loops, but it's hard to use; Propellerhead Reason is great for loops but it's hard to use; Project 5 is great for loops but it's hard to use; Kinetic is easy to use, but limited in functionality. I was cycling through software updates recently and started playing with Acoustica Mixcraft and realized I can finally answer this question with confidence.
Mixcraft is the Windows equivalent to GarageBand. Mixcraft is so good, I think Microsoft should buy Acoustica and offer Mixcraft alongside Windows Movie Maker, Photo Story, and their other media apps as the Windows version of iLife.
Mixcraft comes with an integrated loop library. Mixcraft supports additional loops from outside vendors, including the Apple Loops loved by GarageBand users. Beat matching and music key matching both just seem to work. You can adjust audio up and down with a rubberband tool inside each track in your composition. If you're inclined to record your own music, Mixcraft supports both instrument and vocal recording. In certain respects, I might argue that Mixcraft is actually better than GarageBand, because Mixcraft lets you do things like save your finished song as MP3, WMA or OGG, instead of being limited to AAC as a compressed output format. The only thing Mixcraft currently doesn't do that GarageBand does is make enhanced podcast files with chapter points and photos, which is far from a showstopper.
If you've been dying to have a GarageBand-like app on your Windows computer, download Mixcraft and start making music.
