Don't do any of that nonsense, it's a complete waste of time. Go out and play gigs. Even if you do become a megastar, most of your revenue will come from live performance. We're in an age where most people won't pay $6.99 for an album, but they'll happily pay $69 to see a band from row Q of an arena. Why spend any time or effort on the least profitable part of the enterprise, when you can get straight to the meat?

Recording an album in your bedroom is almost always a cop-out. It's a way of being able to tell yourself that you tried to have a career in music, without taking any real emotional risk or doing any real work. It's a way of "getting your music out there" that doesn't require the courage to stand up in front of a bar full of strangers and play it. Unfortunately, it doesn't work. Musicians with internet-based careers are still absolutely the exception rather than the rule, they're still a rare aberration.

If you want to be in a rock and roll band, then be in a rock and roll band. Don't buy yourself a bunch of recording equipment, buy a rusted-up old Econoline. Don't overdub your guitar tracks onto a drum machine, put up a flyer in your local music shop and find a drummer. Take whatever crappy gigs you can get and hustle like a mofo. At the very least, you'll end up with far better anecdotes.