Recording test audio

Linux distros I have used have no built in record software which I have wanted in order to test microphone levels before creating screencasts.
In Arch, install the "alsa-utils" package, then you can record/play with the following utilities:

$ # Record 5 seconds of audio, then play it back.
$ arecord -d 5 test-mic.wav
$ aplay test-mic.wav