Recording audio from alsa sound card

Ok my respected Linux genius. This is my project. First I have a Windows / Linux combo OS set-up!

In my windows, I use the latest realtex sound driver as this gives me complete control with recording output control and Microphone gain control. In the set-up, there is a stereo mixer component with is necessary to engage the direct sound recording from my sound card. To make this all come together, I use a sound recording software [ free sound recorder 9 ] and to convert the recording to a wma, wav, or meg, I use Roxio 10 to produce audio cd's to play on all CD Players.

The challenge for me in Linux is to create the same set-up with Linux applications to produce the same professional results.

Presently, my kubuntu 10.04 has Alsa sound drivers, with a version of realtek incorporated. I have the Alsa mixer software as well as Audacity as the sound recorder program. But no matter what I do, audacity depends on the microphone to record, which makes the final recording pure crap. If I lower the microphone boost or gain in my Alsa mix, then Audacity can not record the ambient sound from the speaker output and it will only recognize mono and pulse as the sound method. With the pre mention set up, Who has a set up identical to what is offered to windows that will do exactly the same for Linux. I basically want to record directly from the sound card in my Linux, without depending on using my microphone and then a CD burning program to make the conversion to MPEG or the necessary file format for the burned CD to play in all CD players, not just on a PC) I am trying to stay away from command line language in the terminal. I really need a replacement for Audacity, cause Free Sound Recorder is made for Windows Platform......I need a Linux sound Guru for the answer.....

ALSO...I am not doing this to pirate music....I have over 3,450 music track inside my Rhapsody subscription and I like to record music for personal listening on my portable CD player and at 0.99 per track charge to do this in Rhapsody, I might as well by a recording studio and hire the singing artist.