Price range is a huge factor in giving good advice about microphones. That said, I've found one of the most versatile inexpensive condenser mics is the
sure PG81. Its a small diaphragm condenser and is typically geared more towards instruments, but as far as bang for your buck, this thing is an all round workhorse. Super low noise, directional, transparent. It doesnt have some of the lows of a large diaphragm condenser, but does a great job catching the detail of a human voice. The best thing about this mic is you can cut across multiple applications and it does a decent job on all of them: acoustic guitar, overheads, voices, strings, piano, etc.
Looks like its retailing for around $129US right now, but I've seen it as cheap as $89US in the past. Its more than the samson ra7or recommended, but my guess is you're going to get better all around use out of it. Its the best small diaphragm condenser in the less-than-200 price range.
If you're *only* looking for a vocal mic, a large diaphragm condenser is probably a better bet. Ive never used anything made by samson... my fear would be reliability. Typically these low-end manufacturers make good sounding products that fail after a year or two (though ra7or sites reliability as a factor, so presumeably he/she knows more about it than I do). Retailers like Guitar Center (as much as I hate them) usually have a good return policy within 30 days. Use this to your advantage... theres no way to know how a mic is going to work for you until you actually use it in your environment.
Either way, the condenser is a big step up in detail and clarity on a voice. It's worth working around or solving your insulation problems for the difference, IMHO.
