We had rib-eye steaks last night that were simply seasoned with McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning. I agree with simscooks, good steaks don't need to be marinated. A little Lawry's garlic salt with parsley might be all you need.

But other cuts of beef might need favor, like round of beef and tenderloin. Those cuts have lean, and so don't have as much natural beef flavor. While not steak, we make a mean cubes of beef round by marinating 1/2" cubes in a mix of garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce and soy oil; and then grill on skewers.

ok I am pretty new at cooking things that dont come in a box ...lol...can anyone tell me the basics about marinating and how long you need to do it for?

most recipes will tell you how long to marinate the meat/fish/veggies for - sometimes you can marinate overnight and other times for just a couple hours or even 15 t0 30 minutes - most marinating should be done in a non-reactive container - use something like glass - but it always depends on the cut of the meat, the size, etc.

do you have something in mind that you want to marinate? I can be more specific then

Nothing really specific I just hear about people marinating steaks and stuff before cooking them on the grill and was just wondering how it worked

I don't typically marinade mine either; but occasionally I do in some sort of oil and worschestershire sauce. Our local meat market has a steak seasoning that they make themselves that is absolutely WONDERFUL that we typically use on our steaks.