If you want good quality VST effects for mastering, as well as a good investment in software (great support), look at the Voxengo stuff.
One of the nicest programs to work with is Wavelab, but I’m sure you can get some cheaper alternatives.
I’m not sure how it is right now, but some not long time ago you couldn’t use VSTs in SoundForge.
Quote:
“One of the nicest programs to work with is Wavelab, but I’m sure you can get some cheaper alternatives.”
cheaper?
hows free 
http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/index.php
mlon
I’m using Samplitude for both final mixing and mastering. It has just about every feature I can think of.
hope to see an improved mastering enviroment in Renoise in the future.
Even now I sometimes master in Renoise (some tracks are just as they are).
But mostly I use Wavelab 4.
Ok… it can… play files… 
It’s not seeing Wavelab for the features or ease of use, plus if you use it in commercial purposes, you have to pay.
But no, frankly: it’s definitely one of the best freeware audio programs, suited for mixing ('cept for no PDC). At least you can see the VST UIs, not like Audacity, which is… 
I much prefer Renoise’s audio editor than Audacity.
I see a lot of great freeware synths and so on, but a nice wave editor…? I mean Audacity would be very good if you didn’t have to put the VSTs there and if you could see the UI. What’s the deal?
You can now in version 8.0.
Damn, it took them 8 versions to implement VST and ASIO support… 
But I like CD Architect, yessir! 
Well, I think the both are not too necessary for a sample editor. In Acid those things make more sense.
Of course not, just for cutting a sample and things like that.
But for mastering, VST support is IMHO a must, unless you have enough other plugins as an alternative.
Wich my Acid pro4 doesnt have. It’s just enough do a good mixdown.
is this for reinforcing soundforges net worth or?
anyhow, ive been very impressed with an osx program called peak. the quality of it surpasses every editor ive used so far. only problem is the aif format, it will not work in renoise.
I’ve used Peak on Mac in a Pro studio for 6 months, and I must say I’m not convinced. Mainly because of the poor accuracy of the display.
My vote is still with Audition or Wavelab.
it would be really nice to have a future where we wouldnt need to ever close renoise. just do all editing/mastering/recording inside renoise. i find myself using renoise for editing more than i actually use peak to. the only time i dont is when im working with a file renoise wont read properly.
My mastering process changes, depending on the song.
But lately I’ve been rendering the Renoise song in separate tracks and then fine tuning in Cubase SX. (generally I aim to get the mixing right in Renoise). I will then throw the mixdown into Soundforge, normalise at around 90%, and drag it into a program called Har-Bal.
Har-Bal (http://www.har-bal.com/) is an absolute gem. If you haven’t checked it out, then CHECK IT OUT … even if you are set in your ways, I cannot praise this peice of software enough.
Once I am happy with the harmonic balancing of the track (via the magic of har-bal), I load it back up in soundforge. I’ll use the Waves LMB and the L2, and then I’m done.
I know this thread is kinda old- but whatever- I just wanted to add this to your comment: If you are good enough at mixing your songs- then you don’t need to master. Master is pretty much just setting the tonality and levels of all songs so that they actually sound like they belong together on the same album- think about it- when a compilation is put out, they have go and remaster the whole thing for just that reason (which pisses me off sometimes cause I’ve had some songs on comps sounding pretty lame after these guys get through with it). And the other treason for mastering is that you might want to bring out certain harmonics- it can make a cold electronic album sound warm, as well as to decide what order your songs are going to be in. I like my stuff kinda raw, so before the final stage I try to just mix the album as tediously well as possible so that I don’t have to mess too much with it after that besides leveling… and yes, it’s def cheaper to master you own stuff, but you want a fresh set of ears to do it for you- if you do master your own stuff, switch songs frequently and take a few days break between each session… just some good advice, cause it’s easy to screw up a mastering job, and remember less is more. Don’t get too crazy with the compression. 
ON the cheap side, I really like that you can run VST plugins in realtime in Wavosaur. Better than Audacity for mastering.
In some cases online services are doing a smart job, too. It`s always better to go with your talents and optimize the strengths you have, than trying to optimize your weaks. You might want try landr.com com or https://auphonic.com/engine/