I used CoolEdit 2000 Lite which I bought for $39 back 4 years ago, and now I have WaveLab Lite that also comes with Soundblaster Audigy2...
WaveLab seems more flexible in editing and converting such as down res or up res than CoolEdit. But I am used to looking at CoolEdit s/n meter.
So, I recommend you to try the software WaveLab and see what you thinks. Even the package that you save the music file take up much less space than CoolEdit...heh, I suppose WaveLab have a better programming than Cool Edit.
Oh, if you have Nero 6, or maybe Nero 5, they have this Nero Wave Editor that does pretty much what Wavelab and Cool Edit does too. Although I never try Nero Wave Editor.
Video Editing program like adobe Premeiere also does the trick but i prefer using audio editing program if you only use it to edit audio only.