In the world of soundproofing there are hundreds of options and techniques that can be used to stop sounds from traveling through your walls. While the most effective methods are to put loads of mass between you and the sound, for example a concrete wall, not everyone has the luxury of being able to dramatically change the construction of their home. A more reasonable approach is to add isolation to your walls. This can be achieved through a number of channels, including sound isolating brackets, mass loaded vinyl, or resilient channel. The idea is that if you can float your drywall off of the studs, there will be less of a chance that the vibrations will be able to travel through the wall.
However, as soundproofing products have advanced, there have been dramatic improvements in cheap soundproofing effectiveness. No, quick fix products like soundproof curtains are still a waste of money, but there are ways to soundproofing your home for a few hundred dollars rather than several thousand dollars.
The best product on the market at the moment is sound barrier adhesive. The glue is used to sandwich two sheets of drywall together with an isolated center so that you get a healthy combination of both mass and isolation. This technique is perfect if you’ve just moved into a home to discover you have noisy neighbors, or that there is a dog barking down the road that keeps you up at night. Using the existing drywall on your walls, simply throw up some sound barrier glue and you can double the mass of your wall without screwing through to the studs. The benefit of this technique over raised channel is that anyone with drywalling experience can soundproof their home without the need to gain special experience or skills. It is also one of the most affordable techniques.