Need help downloading and activating the program. No instructions aside from the download button were posted. I checked my Downloads file and apparently it is there, but what’s next? Not at all user friendly and the FAQs are no help, as is the misnamed “Help”. 
There was a list of items to download, apparently either the first or the second were to be downloaded, but there were no hints about the rest. Should or shouldn’t they be downloaded also? What is the next step?
On the main page “http://www.audacitygroup.com” there is a boast that Audacity is so much easier to use.
OK so here is the Audacity Manual page for download instructions: https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/installing_and_updating_audacity_on_windows.html
And just to be sure, you are getting Audacity from here, our Audacity website, right?: https://www.audacityteam.org/download/windows/
BTW the “audacity” link you posted is not us at all - it is an advertising agency - so I killed that link
WC
Thanks for the information. I got Audacity to load, but why do I need LAME? It seems that everytime I try to do something, I have to download another program.
You only need LAME if you want to export MP3 audio files.
This is due to licensing restrictions - the patent for LAME was held by Frauenhofer so we couldn’t bundle it. The patent expired recently, we are led to believe, so we are considering bundling it with some future Audacity version.
WC
So I loaded LAME, recorded my podcast, exported it as an MP3, filled out the LAME form, tried to send it to the podcast site, but somewhere in the process the .mp3 vanished from the filename(the file completely lacks a filetype), so the pod people can’t put it on their site. I uploaded it and their site says the file is there, but it won’t play. Their technicians say it’s because it lacks the .mp3, and they sent me directions for the Vista and XP versions of LAME, which were of no help. What do I try next?