Good mics are affordable but you certainly want input from people who actually have and use the ones they recommend, not suggestions based on … whatever. I also know that GREAT mics are very expensive, but there’s a slew of quality mics from Rhode, Shure, and even Sony that work well. I suspect others will pipe in here as well. And, of course, I use my Zoom H2 (now under $200) both as a standalone digital recorder, AND in tandem with the RadioShack model, or similar, that I mentioned earlier.
