The Ubuntu Audio Recorder Application
Sep 3, 2026
If you aren't a true audiophile, you can enjoy music even when it isn't played or streamed at the highest digital bit rate possible. You probably still listen to music on a radio, which is often broadcast at a quality equal to a digital bit rate as low as 64 kbps.
When you record audio obtained from streaming services, you can sometimes choose the quality, especially if you subscribe to a premium tier. There are multiple recording applications available for the Ubuntu Linux distribution and its derivatives, such as Linux Mint.
Only two of them are worth mentioning. Audacity is too complicated for simple recording directly from a streaming service. Audio Recorder is so much easier. It may work with other streaming services, but the only one I subscribe to is Spotify.
Obtaining the Audio Recorder Application
The original developer published the Audio Recorder application as personal package archive (PPA) packages from 2011 to 2021 (or 2022), ending with Ubuntu version 22.04 ("Jammy"). Linux Mint version 21 is based on that version of Ubuntu.
A writer and developer who calls himself "Panda Jim" at UbuntuHandbook published an updated package for Ubuntu version 24.04 ("Noble Numbat"). Linux Mint version 22, the latest, is based on that version of Ubuntu.
I drilled into the package details to find the ".deb" file it uses:
https://launchpad.net/~ubuntuhandbook1/+archive/ubuntu/audio-recorder/+build/28417977/+files/audio-recorder_3.3.4~ubuntu2404.1_amd64.deb
I want to be able to use Audio Recorder on the next version of Linux Mint, which will be based on Ubuntu version 26.04. The PPA won't work, but the ".deb" file will. I've already tested it on Kubuntu version 26.04, which is one of the official flavors of Ubuntu 26.04.
It's also available in the Arch User Repository (AUR) for Arch Linux-based distributions, without version restrictions.
Audio Recorder Application Settings
I like to record from Spotify. I'm subscribed to a premium tier, but I won't bother to record until I've built up a long playlist. Before I begin recording, I ensure I've already downloaded the music (within the Spotify cache) at "very high" quality. The recordings can "stutter" otherwise.
Premium subscribers receive 320 kbps everywhere, while lossless streaming is available in only some locations. I prefer 320 kbps for recording anyway. Lossless recordings take up a lot more space.
Once I select the format as "MP3 Lossy 44KHz", I click on the box for "Additional Settings" and then the "Recording commands" tab. I replace the command displayed with:
audio/x-raw,rate=44100,channels=2 ! lamemp3enc name=enc target=bitrate cbr=true bitrate=320
I have to launch Spotify before launching Audio Recorder or it won't be available as a "Source" on the front screen. The audio recorder begins recording when the first song in the playlist starts playing and automatically moves to the next song until the playlist is complete.
After recording is complete, I have to look up the information for each song and use a tag editor for each MP3 file. It's usually easy to find that information on Wikipedia, otherwise I have to Google it, and that takes longer. I have many hours of music created this way.
Image by Cornelia Schneider-Frank from Pixabay
Originally written on March 7, 2026. Rewritten and expanded.