{I hope this is in the right area of the forum.. I believe it could be in Mixing/Mastering but I thought it was more applicable to when you start a piece}

I'm having a ton of trouble deciding what levels to start my mix on. I've heard in the past to ensure your kick is hitting 0 DB as you mix and when pulling up waveforms of songs I listen to regularly you can see the kick and snare/clap hitting the top always.

I'm fairly new to forums, obviously, I was just hoping someone could help shed some light on the subject. I think if I could start with some levels I'd be more successful in balancing my tracks out so the kick and snare aren't too loud in the mix.

Appreciate anything you can help me/everyone else with!