Dynamic, Condenser and the Room You Record In

Microphone choice comes down to two questions. Does the capsule need to ignore the room, or capture it? And does the mic connect over USB and handle its own conversion, or over XLR into an interface? A moving-coil dynamic capsule rejects reflections and is forgiving in an untreated spare room. A large-diaphragm condenser hears far more detail, including the hard wall behind you.

Hybrid mics that carry both a USB port and an XLR output have made the choice less final than it used to be. You can start plugged into a laptop and later move the same microphone onto an interface without replacing it.