i think the m-audio interface/soundcard and pre-amps etc are meant to be pretty good for the price. and shure sm57 for a versatile mic.
i want to get into home recording at some point (i.e when i have some cash), just for the fun of it really. ages ago i got some freebie sequencer with plugins so i tried experimenting a bit but getting a decent sound out of a behringer mic straight into the integrated sound card proved pretty much impossible
