Please bear in mind that these are just my thoughts in general. I am only using information from personal experience and preference. Products mentioned are solely meant to be examples and not necessarily intended as promotions to buy.

There are two major classifications of microphones in general use for most applications today. Those are condenser and dynamic. While both of these microphones are built to accomplish the same task, they way they work is different and will yield different results.

Condenser mics are often recommended for people first getting into vocal recording. They are more sensitive and thus more forgiving to improper mic technique. These mics pick up sounds very well, and in my opinion, too well. If you are using these in an untreated room it is very easy to get sounds of mouse clicks, keyboards, fans, A/C, car horns outside, or the neighbor’s dog barking included in your recording or broadcast.

Common examples of these types of mics are Blue Yeti, Elgato Wave 3, HyperX QuadCast, or AudioTechnica AT2020USB to name a few. These mics are often connected via USB cable to your computer and are easy to set up.

Dynamic mics are less sensitive and extremely good at rejecting off-axis noises. That is to say they will mostly only pick up audio that is coming from directly in front of the microphone. These mics are not as sensitive and so proper mic technique becomes much more important. It is much easier to exclude all those unwanted outside noises from your recording or broadcast with a dynamic mic.

Common examples of these types of mics are (XLR)Shure SM57, SE Electronics SE7, Shure SM7B, Rode Podcaster, Rode Procaster, (USB)Elgato Wave DX, Samson Q2U, AudioTechnica ATR2100USB, and Shure MV7. These mics can connect directly via USB, but some of them require and audio interface using XLR inputs. If budget is a concern for you, I would stick with the USB options.

I don’t want to go into detail about audio interfaces, channel strips, and pre-amps in this discussion, but we can come back to those topics later if anyone is interested.

My personal recommendations for solid, entry level microphones to use for Twitch streaming or web conferencing would be the Samson Q2U or AudioTechnica ATR2100USB. They both have the classic ice cream cone style layout that you would be familiar with if you’ve ever seen a musician on stage. For a decent step up in price, you can go with something that “looks” more like a broadcaster microphone like the Samson Q9U or the Shure MV7.

If you just prefer the ease of use and the extreme sensitivity of a condenser microphone, then I would recommend the AudioTechnica AT2020USB or the Elgato Wave 3 as excellent starting options. Again there is nothing wrong with this style of microphone. I just personally feel that a dynamic mic is much more forgiving for having an untreated room and ambient noise rejection.