I'd suggest you play this track, back to back with another CD you'd like to emulate. When this track comes on and you say "____ in comparison to the other mix... I'd adjust that, etc...
Seriously...use your ears and decide what areas need improvement. I hate to be such a jerk and suggest the obvious, but man, what do YOU think?
as an example...this is a mono mix with the exception of the lead vocal ocassionally shifting around from 11:00 to 1:00 in the panning spectrum. Everything else is right down the middle. You knew that though...right?
One could go on about getting the drums to sound right in the first place before recording, mic techniques, OUCH..cymbal crashes, etc, etc guitars being mic'd from 10 feet away using the same mic as used for the bass guitar (or at least it sounds like it).
I think you need to worry about solid sounds coming from the instruments first, then playing great, then tracking decently, leading to a good mix, and on....
I don't mean to jump your shit, and apologize if I appear to be doing so. With equipment so inexpensive nowadays to record with, and an average of two computers in most peoples homes in the U.S. you should be getting a better sound than this without much trouble. This is the kind of sound we all got 30 years ago (less the tape hiss) when we had to use a crappy mic to record the whole band in one take...and the recorder was one of those dictation casette dealies...
