I've tried a lot of different mics over the years, and on my voice I find that the Blue Blueberry is PERFECT!!  It adds an airiness as well as a bit of grit in the mid-range that I need. 
 
What intrigues me about mics is that the one that sounds great on one voice may well sound dreadful on another.  You never know until you try it for yourself.

Cactus that method seems to fail me. It takes at least a minute for me to breathe again,let alone sing anything. When my heart starts back up again I can't think straight so I stay away :) One heck of a cold remedy though. I stayed healthy all winter with just an occasional sip here and there. Whiskey cleans the airway a little, burn your tonsils right out of your throat :)
 
Davdud, I got one of those on a MF deal of the day and haven't regretted it since. That EV Co9  is a nice little mic. Surprised me how nice it sounded. Really in a beginning home studio situation with computer noise and recording in less than stellar places, a dynamic fits the bill pretty well at times. You don't really want something that lets you hear flies mating, know what I mean?
 
Jude I'm glad you found a mic that works well for you. This mic thing can be a journey....a really expensive journey.
 
 

Early March I ordered one of the new TLM 107 microphones and am not so patiently waiting its arrival.  All sources who were lucky enough to audition one say it is a wonderful vocal mic and a Multi-Pattern Neumann for under $2000 besides.  I usually order in pairs but I wanted to test a single out first to see if it is worth it.  I am hoping it is a versatile all-rounder.

Maybe look at the new Rode NT-1. Complete new design, only uses the capsule from the NT-1A.
Clips etc: https://soundcloud.com/ehalter/sets/first-track-with-the
http://www.rodemic.com/microphones/nt1
 
Affordable... I know clips really don't tell you a lot because, well because but they are what they are. I'm considering buying an NT-1 and I want a SM-7b.
 
Guage makes really good mics for the money... http://www.gauge-usa.com/Gauge_Microphones/Home.html and of course I ALWAYS listen to everything Danny says. I already looked on Ebay for the CAD mic he mentioned and there are a couple for under 200 bucks. I have never heard anything bad about the KSM-44 but I cannot afford one right now.
 
Happy hunting. (If I repeated anything I R sorry, I only read the first couple of pages so far but wanted to post this before I forgot. OK, back to reading!)
 
edit> there is this on the Gauge mics too, it is interesting. http://www.gauge-usa.com/Gauge_Microphones/Compare.html
 
Sandy Beach aka jbow

Rumley, I'll be excited to hear if you like what you hear. I'll be surprised if it's anything but good news considering that mic.

Jbow, hope you find what you're after.. The only down side to this thread so far has been ebay prices....I swear they are going up:)
Don't talk yourself out of the KSM44. If I told you what I paid for mine you wouldn't believe it. The first thing that needs to happen though is we bury this thread:)

It's the oldest argument in the world? 
 
I can get these women? They're not bad? But they're not "HOT!"
 
But I only have to pay "this much?
 
--------------------
 
I can get THESE OTHER WOMEN!!! They're not cheap, but you have to pay THIS MUCH!!!
 
---------------
 
The problem is? We want both... The ultimate problem is? "you can't get both!" People will tell you that you can? You'll search for it? It doesn't exist... 

It's the oldest argument in the world? 
 
I can get these women? They're not bad? But they're not "HOT!"
 
But I only have to pay "this much?
 
--------------------
 
I can get THESE OTHER WOMEN!!! They're not cheap, but you have to pay THIS MUCH!!!
 
---------------
 
The problem is? We want both... The ultimate problem is? "you can't get both!" People will tell you that you can? You'll search for it? It doesn't exist... 

I've never had to pay for a woman and I have the best right now ....treacherous waters Robbie...treacherous waters, comparing microphones to women. 
 
I guess my aim was mainly to see which mics everyone likes, not to argue what mics are better compared to how much they cost. We've had some really good comments on that I think. I've learned a lot just in this article,and it has single handedly been responsible for my last three mic purchases.
 
Having said that, I know a lot of people are on a budget and so money is a factor for some, yet it doesn't need to stop the show either. For me money is definitely an issue but a secondary issue to the mic itself.
 
I also did a little more digging than I likely would have because I wanted to know the facts on a lot of these mics.
 
If a person tells me they like mic so and so and they are in the studio recording a lot, I take what they say pretty seriously. A lot of what I have read has further confirmed a lot of my hunches and given me a few directions to go in that are helpful. 

Rumley, I'll be excited to hear if you like what you hear. I'll be surprised if it's anything but good news considering that mic.

 
I just heard that I should get it tomorrow.  I'll see how it goes.

Jeff Evans
There was a great article in the January issue of Sound on Sound on Phil Ramone and how he gets the most amazing vocal sound.  The article is called 'Star Quality'   Not freely downloadable yet but it should be soon I imagine.
 
It is one of the most interesting things I have read in a while.  Phil basically says that the final vocal sound does not have anything at all to do with the vocal mic, preamp or compressor etc (vocal chain)  It is about something else. Four other things actually and they all have nothing to do with technology.  Check it out if you can sometime. It will really open your mind up about how to get great vocal performances down.
 
But it is fun to talk about the hardware for sure. I still feel the Rode Classic top of the line valve mic is very very nice and I have used it for many years on everything and it does a stellar job. It is reasonably priced too.

My wife had the honour to work with Mr. Ramone a few years ago, in Avatar Studio, NYC. A sweet man - who was quite impressed by my lovely lady's voice. ;)
 
Me I'd pick a Blue Blueberry. In 2012 back in NY again, within a few weeks, we had two sessions booked. First one in a real studio, with proper vocal booth and top notch gear - the session involved a U67, a LA-2A, Neve Pres, a Harrison board and Pro Tools HD. The results were obviously great.
 
A few weeks later, another session took place, that time in a suite similar to our own - a glass box with no sound treatment whatsoever. Much like my own rig pictured below, but with better gear. The mic was a Blue Blueberry running through a Avalon Tube Pre/Compressor, through Apogee converters, into Logic. I was completely blown away by the results. To this day, that's still my favorite take on my wife's voice. And it works great on male voice too.
 
That Blue Blueberry mic was incredible.