Q:

Audio converter WAV to mp3 for windows

I voice record a lot and the recorder outputs in WAV. These recordings are usually > 1hr. I don't care very much about audio quality but want the files compressed for cloud storage backup.
Is there an easy/graceful way to do this on Windows? The guide I found for Media player (first burn to a CD and then rip it as mp3) is kind of dumb! I don't want to do it online (some confidential info) and am not looking for shady freeware with ad popups. 
Mac has "To MP3 Converter" which reviews said struggles with longer files and is also a monthly subscription, not good.
I can do this on ubuntu with ffmpeg with mixed results, especially with longer files.

A:

On Linux, I've always used Lame and was very much satisfied. It's also available for Windows, with a GUI as winLAME:
 
winLame: encoding, presets (source: winLAME; click images for larger variants)
It supports a wide range of formats, of course including MP3. You can select the quality you want (higher quality, bigger files), as the second screenshot shows. I've used in on Linux to encode my music files, but it does speech as well. Not being a Windows user I cannot tell how well the GUI works, but it looks very fitting for your requirements. On Sourceforge, it only has high ratings, so users seem to be happy with it; it is described by a user as "fast and simple" – exactly what you want.

