Shure sm7b . sic on rap vocals... before i had this i was using either a mxl 2003 or a shure bet sm58a for voclas .. while both are nice mics .. the mxl was too bright and essey i thought and the beta 58a was too gritty and sharp sounding ( my voice is already kinda griity soounding so it exagerated it too much) .. i needed somethng smooth, with some weight and not too bright and sibliant .. the sm7 takes the cake for me .... plus its a dynamic so it dont pick up your whole room.. perfect for where i live .. i got it on ebay for just under $300 ...money well spent .. just make sure you have a nice clean preamp sounding with ALOT of gain .. the mic has very low output and needs mad gain to get a hot level... for the money id on think anything is comparable until you get way up in price... just though i would share that info.. if you do not have big dough to spend on a high end mic i def suggest looking into this mic..... btw michael jackson used this mic to record "thriller"