Let’s kick off with something that brings in a bit extra than most USB microphones. The G-Track Pro from Samson offers all the great quality and convenience of a USB mic for vocals but also features an instrument input for your guitar. It’s the perfect solution for the strumming or fingerpicking singer songwriter.

The G-Track Pro is a sizable professional condenser microphone with a dual 1″ diaphragm capsule and three selectable pickup patterns. Whether you need it cardioid, omnidirectional or bi-directional, the G-Track can capture the details and nuance of your situation.

The instrument input really sets the G-Track Pro apart by essentially turning it into an audio interface but without any of the complexity that can bring. Plug your guitar, bass, keyboard or another instrument into the back, and you can record it along with the vocals to two independent tracks. The tracks can be routed to your DAW for recording or mixed to stereo for live streaming.

Mixing controls are on the front, so you can set the comparative levels for mic and instrument along with the headphone volume. To avoid any latency issues, you can directly monitor all the sources to your headphones. I really appreciate the useful Mute button as well.

The G-Track Pro is solid, and heavy, comes with a chunky and grippy base that makes sure it stays in position on your desk. This is a great piece of kit.

Street Price: $111.35
Samsontech.com

The Snowball from Blue has become a bit iconic for its good looks and usefulness. It’s surprisingly versatile and is available in a nice snowy white, gloss black or rock-and-roll chrome. It comes with a metal desktop stand and is ready to go out of the box.

Inside there are two condenser capsules featuring cardioid and omnidirectional polar patterns. Cardioid is perfect for picking up sounds from the front or directing it to an instrument. For loud singers or instruments, there’s a -10dB pad for reducing the sensitivity. Omnidirectional lets you place the Snowball in the middle of the action and it will record everything from everywhere. It runs at a sample rate of 44.1kHz at 16 bits.

At $69, along with the CAD U37, it’s the cheapest microphone on the list and is a simple and easy solution for both Windows and macOS.

Street Price: $69
bluedesigns.com

The Wave:3 brings together the hardware expertise of studio microphone makers Lewitt and software developers Elgato to offer an elegant streaming and content creating solution wrapped up in a good looking microphone.

Boasting broadcast quality 24-bit audio via a fixed cardioid condenser capsule the Wave:3 has everything you need to capture the perfect performance. It features clever Clipguard technology that analyses the audio input and ensures there’s always sufficient headroom to prevent clipping.

It’s a great mic but it’s the software side that really elevates the Wave:3. It comes with Wave Link software that brings together all of the things generating sound in your system like your music software, game or audio playback and lets you create two independent internal mixes with the microphone for sending to Twitch, YouTube, Facebook or wherever you are streaming to. It’s totally brilliant.

Wave:3 comes with a little stand that gives it a old-style radio broadcast vibe. On the front you’ve got a soft mute button and level indicators. Its USB-C connection is compatible with Windows, macOS and Playstation. A slightly cheaper Wave:1 is also available which lacks the front display and has a slightly reduced sample rate.

Street Price: $159
elgato.com

Let’s head upmarket a little bit with the Audio Technica AT2020 USB+. It has the same sound and technology as their acclaimed AT2020 condenser microphone, which brings this USB microphone into the realms of studio quality.

The AT2020USB+ records at 16bit and 44.1kHz or 48kHz over a regular 20Hz to 20kHz response. It has a standard cardioid directional polar pattern for great off-axis sound rejection and comes with a little stand and an adapter for a proper mic stand.

But it also features a built-in headphone jack with volume control. This allows you to both monitor your input without latency or mix in recorded material.

The AT2020USB+ is a good, solid if unexciting microphone for Windows and macOS that will do a decent job all day long.

Street Price: $149
audio-technica.com

I wasn’t expecting this to be as good as it is. I naturally lean towards the regular NT-USB because that work “Mini” makes me think the NT-USB Mini is somehow less in quality and I couldn’t be more wrong.

The NT-USB Mini is a solid USB microphone that captures Rode’s ability to make great products and serves it up in an easy to use package. It looks plastic on the website but this thing is made of metal that’s cold and heavy in your hands. It looks great, very professional, dark and sober which is what you want when you’re streaming, podcasting or recording.

It has a high-quality condenser capsule, cardioid pattern and built-in pop filter. Volume control is right on the front and the headphone socket is tidied away on the back. The desk stand is solid and magnetic with 360-degree movement.

The cherry on the top is the Rode Connect software app that gives you loopback mixing, monitoring and level control plus DSP processing to remove noise, compress, excite and give it some bass. Simply engage the processing to massage your vocals to exactly where they need to be.

Street Price: $99
rode.com

The iRig Stream range of products from IK Multimedia really nail down what a musician needs to live stream on any platform with the minimum of fuss. The iRig Stream Mic Pro elevates this idea to include a professional quality condenser microphone.

The microphone is pristine and precise with 1/2″ gold-sputtered electret condenser capsules for stereo and mono recording at 24bit and 96kHz. It has a high-pass filter to remove a bit of that low end rumble. The pattern is switchable between cardioid, omnidirectional, figure-eight and stereo polar patterns. And, similar to the G-Track Pro, the iRig Stream Mic Pro has an audio interface connection for line level sources such as synths, drum machines or mixers. These can be mixed in separately or together with the microphone signal.

The iRig Stream Mic Pro is dead easy to use with a nice big knob that controls everything and bright LEDs to show you how the levels are doing. The Loopback function helps you to effortless stream your singing or playing through other software along with whatever you’ve got playing back.

This is a solid USB microphone from a company that’s been working with these sorts of solutions for a long time. It’s great with phones as well as your laptop and is ready to go whenever you are.

Street Price: $199
IKMultimedia.com

Let’s take things up a level to a microphone that brings the quality of the studio to the convenience of the USB format. ICON looks stunning, like something out of a 70’s sci-fi movie. You are not going to feel anything other than cool with this mic in your Zoom meeting. It’s beautifully and yet understated, makes you look effortlessly professional rather than hiding behind a studio mic hanging on an arm. It’s made in stainless steel and is rather nice.

The specifications are those of a professional studio microphone with 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response, 70dB signal-to-noise ratio and a peak acoustic input of 132dB SPL. The small cardioid capsule captures audio with 14 microseconds of rise time.

Earthworks point to its simplicity and its ability to work in any situation without any fuss. There’s no EQ, no DSP or pattern selection, it’s pure recording class. On the back is a gain knob to get the levels right and it also doubles as a mute switch which clicks as you push it in to inform you that you are muted. It comes with a desktop stand but can also be mounted on any microphone stand.

ICON is a lovely looking microphone that’s simple, elegant and classy.

Street Price: $249
earthworksaudio.com

You’ve already seen this mic everywhere, or at least you think you have? The Shure MV7 is designed to look like their legendary SM7B studio microphone which has become an industry standard for close micing vocals and instruments. The MV7 is a lot cheaper than the SM7B and so while it can’t claim the same quality level it has a lot going for it as a USB mic.

It has a built in level meter and touch controls so you can make all the important adjustments with ease. Voice Isolation Technology will help push away room noise and keep the focus on your vocals. The ShurePlus app brings in additional features like Auto Level Mode to ensure you always have a consistent output. You’ll also find monitor mixing, EQ, a limiter and compressor and full manual control if you wish.

While the MV7 is a USB microphone it also has an XLR output so if your situation grows you can keep on using the MV7 with a mixer and audio interface. Rather than a stand it comes with the mount that made the SM7B so eye-catching. This can be attached to a mic stand or boom so that you can place it exactly where you want it to be and as a dynamic microphone that means as close and you can.

Street Price: $249
shure.com