why is my waveform so spikey?

[korbbit]

hey everyone,
i finally finished recording my song, i recorded directly from my guitar and mic into my m-audio fast-track ultra, and used a high quality drum vst. it all sounds great, im truly blown away by the quality, but when i compare my song to proffessionally recorded tracks, theirs just sound so much 'fatter'. and when i look at their waveforms, theres much les spikes, it all seems to be sitting just under clipping point...
heres a comparison of my song's waveform(top) and a proffessional track:

my song is here:http://droppingego.com/The%20Heat.mp3
I tried using a compressor on the whole song, but that just made it sound weird..
I just want to get that proffessional sound, do i need a compressor mic? and some sort of compressor pre-amp?
any advice appreciated.
-corbin.

[Dragonbreath]

Thats modern mastering for ya.

Its combination of compression and limiting.
Even's out the amplitude of the sound
Beware bad use of these tools can make your stuff sound like shit.

read up on how to properly use a compressor diy mastering

[OptionCommand]

Just what Dragonbreath said!
Your recording has dynamic range, the pro track is just loud and slammed with a brick wall limiter.
You could use a limiter on the master outs and bump it up about 3db, that'll make it louder.

[Davo]

Your recording has a greater dynamic range which will give it a pleasant "open" sound, whereas a heavily compressed track will be constant noise (like TV ads). A mix of loud and soft gives the brain a rest and allows it to hear better. I think a lot of pop music is compressed and limited like this so it can be heard on crappy stereos, but I am happy to be corrected about this.

[OptionCommand]

The overall idea is that the louder the recording the more it'll be noticed and in turn equate to more sales, or so the big record companies used to think.

[Tarekith]

This might help:

http://tarekith.com/assets/mastering.html