Okay, many good answers later, let me weigh in with some thoughts.

When I see the reply that addresses "taking your collection of songs and getting them ready for mass production and sale", or words to that effect, here's what I have a problem with.

The songs for the country album I have written were written over 2 years, during which my gear saw MANY changes in direction and rethinking of philosophy. My skills in recording have also grown as I have learned about using effects more adeptly. Given all of that, the 11 songs are at ALL different levels of quality. (And honestly, this is a home studio project that was never intended to be printed and sold so I am not about to record any of them again.)

When a touring, active band decides to record a new album, that all gets done over a period of a couple of weeks, where you go back to the same studio conditions every day with the same producer and recording engineer doing things their way, another constant. Those 11 songs are a MUCH more level, even, "smooth" product to start the process of final mix and master. As I listen to my stuff on a thumb drive while I drive I can hear DRASTIC differences in how they are EQd, which ones were done before I discovered (after some gentle nudging) onboard effects and in the box mixing. I have never even touched a comp limiter before, and the 13 songs on the thumb drive are ALL over the place.

So this next project will see me take more accurate notes and screen shots of how the EQ, reverb, limiter, etc.... are set when I have the sound I want. For most of those original 13, it's too late as I was doing outboard verb and EQ and it was destructive editing, and I don't have clean tracks to start over with. (Yes, dummy Eddie edited originals instead of making a copy.)

It does bum me out that when that stuff plays, track 1 is okay, track 2 lacks highs, track 3 is okay, track 4 lacks low end.... and so forth. Hindsight being 20/20, I know better now. The 4-5 I am really at all proud of for content were really only be meant to send to lower level recording artists looking for material to sing for their demo. Remember, as I have said all along, I don't care about playing. I want to write.