eek

recording quality IS important people. it is it is it is. unless the bad recording fits with the style of the music (which it usually does NOT) i'll turn off a bad recording before it hits the halfway mark.
although professional recordings are expensive, if you're even half serious about your band, renting a few mics from musicstop or buckleys is relatively cheap and will make a huge difference in your recording quality.

mic it nicely. for drums, mic the snare, the kick, the toms and the hats. or get 4 condenser mics and set them up as overheads, with pzm style mics on the kick. you'll get a nice sound that way.
mic your guitar cabinets. don't just use room mics. that's just plain silly.
direct input for the bass is good. same with keyboards and such.
vocals are important. depending on the style of music, use an sm57 or a nice condenser (sm57s are good for loud vocals that don't really matter if they're fantastic, condensers are good for more defined vocalists[jazz,pop etc])
record your instruments separately. do it do it do it.
mix separately too. get a good balance. effects can be added later.
if you really want it to sound great, get it professionally mixed. it doesn't cost very much, and you have final say in what it sounds like in the end. hell, i'll mix it for you for free! if it means the whining will stop. and shitty recordings stop.
renting the mics will cost you about $100. getting it professionally mixed, about $150. 4 people in your band: $62.50 each. $25 each if you mix it yourself, or ask me to do it.
why post this in my blog? and not somewhere like, say, halifaxlocals? because people are stupid jerks.