Figuring out which home studio microphone is right for your home recording needs typically boils down to two primary factors: how you plan to use the microphone and how much you can afford to spend. I recently ran across an article listing the 10 best affordable home studio microphones. While the article is a couple years old, microphone technology doesn’t change much and the choices are all still valid options for a variety of home recording functions. I currently own two of the microphones on the list and have owned two others at various points in the past.

The USB microphones on the list work great for voice over recordings, as long as you can control noise, but just be cautious of anything USB if you need multiple input sources. I have gotten burned in trying to sync sound when more than one USB source or a mixed USB and analog audio source are used.