11+ Best Laptops for DJs, Recording & Music Production

Whether you’re a pro producer or an amateur musician doing your own mixes, choosing a good music production laptop is a critical decision to make.

But it shouldn’t be too hard.

What you are looking for is a laptop that’s powerful enough for your music production and recording programs. Since these laptops are usually of high quality, they will last you for many years, and as long as you have the musical and technical skills, you will eventually make profit from the right laptop investment.

Our Top Rated Music Production Laptops

How to Choose the Right Recording Laptop for Your Needs?

Before everything, you have to think about the operating system you want to use for your music production.

Do you prefer to use a PC or a Mac?

Choosing the right OS will depend on the digital audio workstation software (DAW) you want to use.

Our Laptops for Making Music Review by Category

Browse the list to see our recommendations according to each category below.

This laptop has 8 GB of RAM that runs on 2133 Mhz. This will help you to have smooth multitasking, and accessing the programs and files you use frequently will be a piece of cake.

The MacBook Pro includes an Intel Core i5 dual-core processor. The processor itself is 7^th Gen Kaby Lake, and runs on an amazing speed of 3.6 GHz.

The laptop has two Thunderbolt 3 USB ports. This may not be enough for some people so you will have to use a dongle for more ports. However, they are quite good and can do the job decently.

Here’s a little tip; if you want to get a MacBook Pro but you want more RAM, go for the 15” model. It comes with an i7 processor and 16GB of RAM. This makes more sense than buying 13” model and then buying new RAM and upgrading the whole laptop.

An insane 64GB of RAM and Intel Core i7 7600U processor that runs on 3.9GHz will ensure that you have enough power and speed to facilitate your creativity and productivity. The “ThinkPad” keyboard will also make it easier for you to navigate through your music production process.

This model also has a screen that’s compatible with 4K resolution, allowing you to have awesome visuals/graphics, which can be pretty useful if you want to do some video editing to go with your music project.

The model includes uniquely designed vents that will protect your laptop from overheating and allow it to work at its full potential at all times. This is a huge plus as software for music production usually puts a lot of pressure on your CPU. Music production demands similar needs from a processor as gaming, and this is why this Inspiron model is a very good choice if you’re on a budget.

This laptop also has a huge 17” screen working in full HD. MSI designed this display to deliver you the undistorted and the truest color possible. Another cool feature is the Steel Series keyboard, which is customizable by color and tactile pressure.

You will also get up to 256GB of SSD storage, which is fine, and you can install most of the applications here. However, you will have to use your HDD to store project files and samples. You can always buy more storage if you need to.

Considering the connectivity, this laptop has an SD slot, 1 USB 2.0 slot, 1 USB-C slot, 1 mini display port, and 2 USB 3.0 ports. That’s not bad, and will certainly be of use to you for music production.

Best Recording Laptop Brands

These laptop aren’t only good for mixing, but recording as well.

Depending on your budget, you can choose from a few different models, performance wise. Keep in mind that Dell laptops are more expensive than other laptops in the same system performance category. This is mainly due to the component and build quality.

You can get this model for a little less than $1,850 with the Intel Core 7^th gen i7 processor. If this breaks your budget, there are less expensive options, such as a model with 7^th gen i3 processor for a little less than $1,000 and 7^th gen i5 processor for a little less than $1,350. It’s totally up to you, but we advise you to go for the first option.

Lower end models have a hard drive that works on a 7200RPM and this is totally fine regarding the music production. However, if you want something faster, get a better model and you will get an SSD included.

You can upgrade RAM on any model up to 32GB, which is more than ideal for producing music. The connectivity in the studio should never be an issue as there are many ports, from Thunderbolt to USB 3.0

All in all, this is a beautifully designed, solid laptop that features a very nice display. It’s fairly powerful, and higher-end models include an awesome graphics card that you can use for video editing, gaming, or enjoying your favorite TV series.

It is a lot more powerful and will help you handle all those plugins and tracks. So, make sure you delete any MacBooks from your potential buying list and focus on this one.

I know, at the price of around $1,200, it seems like it is quite expensive, but this laptop is the best for you if you really want to get into music production with a Mac product. You want as much RAM and processing power you can get when it comes to running a session with a lot of plugins and tracks actively running. This 15” model includes 16GB of RAM and an Intel Core i7 quad-core processor, which is more than enough for your needs.

Another thing to mention is that those high-quality audio files will take a lot of space. However, this 15” model has a solution for that with 512GB of SSD memory included. Seriously, if you like Mac, this system is definitely for you. You won’t have problems with freezing in the middle of a guitar solo.

This laptop is also ready to use out-of-the-box. You will also get Garageband included with the laptop, which is awesome for beginners who want to learn a thing or two before investing in other programs.

This is not very important when it comes to music production, but it will be of use if you want to do some film scoring and video editing as well. You can upgrade the RAM up to 32GB if you like to use a lot of effects and plugins.

Regarding the storage, it’s best if you get an SSD with 256GB of space and install all of your software there. Upgrade your HDD to the 7200RPM to store your samples. The laptop has a usual gaming build with lots of lights and is made mostly out of plastic. If you can live with that, you can’t go wrong with this laptop.

The laptop will get a little bit heated if you want to do a lot of processing on it. This is the case with almost any gaming laptop as the battery can’t work the best when the processor is under a lot of pressure. However, this laptop will perform perfectly if you plan to be plugged in while you are doing your music production work.

Overall, it is a very powerful laptop considering its weight and size. It has enough ports for all of your music production needs and requirements, meaning you won’t have to use a dangle. Another great aspect of this computer is that it is totally customizable and upgradeable to the degree you desire.

This laptop costs a little less than $1,050.

Depending on the model, this laptop has 8GB or 16GB of RAM. This means that your projects will definitely keep running smoothly all the time.

You can also get this laptop with up to 1TB of HDD. Most other models usually feature 256GB or 512GB SDD. This means that you probably want to consider adding storage or getting the model with more storage if you plan to have a large production library.

Also, this laptop can be used for video editing and gaming as well. This is due to the fact that all models include NVIDIA GTX 1050Ti graphics card, which is awesome. You will be able to run almost all games at medium settings.

This laptop will cost you a little less than $1,000.

Probably the best thing about this laptop, however, is that it has a dual storage option. Because you can use both HDD and SSD, you can dump all your VSTs and plugins on your HDD and install all your programs on your SSD. The HDD can be upgraded up to 2TB, which will give you a lot of space for storing files.

This laptop has the NVIDIA GeForce 1050 graphics card, which will allow you to do some film score and video editing on it. Overall, this laptop is really good if you’re a beginner in music production and you just want to enjoy making music. Only keep in mind to get the right specs for you so that you don’t have to do a lot of upgrades later on.

You will get a huge storage option, including dual storage. The laptop also has a pretty decent amount of ports, meaning you won’t have to use a dongle. The battery life is also awesome, lasting up to 14 hours when you’re not charging. This will allow you to make some samples outside your studio.

Music Production Laptop Reviews By Price/Budget

If you are really on a budget, here are some laptops you can get for an affordable price that will do the job for you.

Final Verdict