Malakidreams
Also, Would it open the songs I have been working on in mc7?

 
YES
 

Malakidreams
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Cakewalk/SONAR-Platinum-Upgrade-From-Any-Previous-Version.gc     Does Music Creator 7 count as a past sonar for upgrade? $299 would be great

NO
 
http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR/Versions#start
 
it would be $399 for MC owners.

It all depends on what you're after, just the DAW or DAW + accessories (goodies).  Below is a link to comparison charts between the three editions of Sonar; Artist, Professional and Platinum.  The DAW is the same in each but each edition includes a different list of accessories with Artist the base edition and Platinum top-of-the-line.  Cost wise, you will be working from the "I am new to Sonar" list as Music Creator is considered a Cakewalk, not Sonar, product.
 
http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR/Versions
 
Cakewalk and Sonar had a product called Home Studio in the past so it's easy to get confused but the Home Studio I linked to in my post above is completely new.  Home Studio (I'll call it Home Studio 2017 to avoid confusion) will replace Music Creator once Music Creator is no longer offered.  It has more capability than MC7 which in turn has more capability than the MC6 I have.

Check this out $34.99  https://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR-Home-Studio
 
There was a recent thread on the forum where a few Sonar guys picked this up as a lighter version to use on secondary computers, such as laptops for live gigs, etc.  It's the same core program as Sonar, minus a few features...
[link=http://forum.cakewalk.com/HOME-STUDIO-m3518151.aspx]http://forum.cakewalk.com.OME-STUDIO-m3518151.aspx[/link]
 

Check this out for $ 34.99  https://www.cakewalk.com/.oducts/SONAR-Home-Studio

abacab
Check this out for $ 34.99  https://www.cakewalk.com/.oducts/SONAR-Home-Studio

The $34.99 sale ended yesterday, 12/09/2016.  Unless Cake extends the sale, the price is now $49.99 which is still a great price.

jimfogle

abacab
Check this out for $ 34.99  https://www.cakewalk.com/.oducts/SONAR-Home-Studio

The $34.99 sale ended yesterday, 12/09/2016.  Unless Cake extends the sale, the price is now $49.99 which is still a great price.

That's what it says, but when I click on the buy link, it still goes into my shopping cart for $34.99

Again...if your up for the typical learning curve of finding all the nuances (ie...where the heck is that whatchamacallit now to do this that n the other thing you hope to achieve) on that new recording Train(as I write this ...Johnny Cash just came on Folsom Prison Blues....lol....no joke )....that's my sign....sticking to my Track...lol...though that Hstudio is enticing  ;o)

I'll just jump in here. I have used all the versions of Sonar over the last decade. I started with Guitar Studio and then I got Home Studio with a Sound Canvas. That was 2004 I guess looking at my join date here. 
The first versions up to 8.5 all had more or less the same interface and GUI. It's always been a case of adding more features and VST's as you spend the money. 
Things went for a S__T with X1. So I waited that out until X3 when the forum calmed down a stability returned. 
I still have not fully come to grasp with the new interface.. I have the latest and greatest version and yes for life, of Platinum.  But, I like you folks here like things basic and uncluttered, so I just bought the new Home Studio on sale. 
 
The interface is exactly the same as the bigger versions. But I love it's simple straight forward no fancy pants approach. Yes the full versions come with a tonne of great VST's and plug ins. But look at the list and deside if you really ,really need them.. Your paying $400  for the same software as HS but getting a lot of stuff. So if you don't need that stuff then there you go, There's lots you can gather for free and on sale. 
Because the included SI drum kit sucks I just bought the Air software Strike 2 drummer VST for only $43. It blows away Sessions drummer.
 
Anyhow what you have to do is take a hard look at the list that compares the features with each version of Sonar and decide what you need and what you don't need. 
 
I'm really loving Home Studio which I installed on a Laptop and I'm busy editing some midi files with just the WASAPI driver and a set of cheap cans. 
I could record just about anything with this rig ( with an interface of course) and it would sound just as good as anything I recorded with SPLAT. 
 
 
 
 

I'm started out with Home Studio and have regularly upgraded through X1 to Sonar Platinum.  I only have Cakewalk products on my DAW and laptop (except for Melodyne).  Cakewalk provides everything that I need for my audio recording/production.  In fact, they provide WAY more than I need or can even use.  Last year, I spent an entire week just playing with reverb/delay/impulse options on just one vocal track.  There is so much available in Platinum that you may run the risk of getting lost learning/experimenting with Sonar and lose track of the fact that the original objective was to record music.

If you just want to record and do simple mixing (without a ton of synths), MC7 or the new Home Studio really is all you need.  If you want to really comp and tweak the sound then Platinum is a great choice.

I started with MC4 got 5 and then got 6. Cake offered a crossgrade to Sonar 1 essentials when it was out and at a no-brainer price, so I jumped.
 
Here's the deal. If you like what MC can do, all you need to do is add the VST's you want and keep on recording.
 
I used Melodyne and Ozone in MC 4. I turned out some decent tunes with it. My tunes are getting better sounding but it's not because of Sonar. It's because I'm learning more about how to record and mix better.

If you "just gotta" go to Sonar, I'm not going to tell you not too.... make the move, but learn the program, the add ons, and learn how to record and mix.