Audacity is available for Linux.

If your computer will boot from USB, install Ubuntu on a thumb drive. This
way, you will be able to make changes and install software to play with it. I
don't think you will be able to form a realistic opinion of Linux until you have
run it for several weeks as an actual installation. Wiping away your previous
OS is a big step that you don't want to do unless you are quite sure. Getting
you PC back to running WIndows is going to be a weekend project - even if it is
all on backup.