Actually, I have had very good results recording with a factory laptop. The secret: Go to radio shack and get an adapter that takes two RCA plugs to a stereo mini plug like the one that fits in the microphone jack on your laptop. Radio Shack also offers an extension cord for the stero line as well which will make your life much easier.
Simply plug the RCA plugs into your amps RCA output jacks and plug the stereo plug into your line in jack on your laptop. Hook up your mic and your guitar to the amp and you are set to go.
This gets very clean results and eliminates almost all background noise.