What would you recommend for $1000

I agree that the whole AT40__ line and the whole KSM__ line are both excellent choices and you can't really go wrong with ANY of the mics in those series by either brand. There are even some similarities in the sound of those two lines. Several times I've heard recording engineers comment on how similar the AT4050 sounds to the KSM44. However, given the identical price points of the 4040 and the KSM (or SM) 27 mics, I personally feel that the Shure offers a little more bang for the buck, basically because I feel that it has a slightly higher build quality.

The whole point of my recommended list is that, for the $1000 budget that you specified (give or take) this would give you a GREAT LDC, a pair of very nice SDC's, and one of the greatest dynamic mics ever made. This takes you from having a very small, limited mic locker to having the foundation of a KILLER mic locker, and would give you the flexibility to record just about anything that comes your way.
 
If you have a grand to drop, do NOT buy anything other than a Blue Bottle, it is the best thing going, go to any shop and try one out, they are light years ahead of anyone else. IMHO.
 
While dropping $1k on a single mic might seem a bit intimidating to most home-rec folks on tight budgets, and usually the knee-jerk reaction is to be "wise" and buy a lot of cheaper mics for the $1k...in the end that's what you have, a lot of cheaper mics.
OK...they ain't all gonna be garbage...but do you really need 6-12-20 mics...???

I have over 3 dozen mics...from the 57 type up to my top mic, an ADK TT/CE which lists in the $1500-$2000 range.
In all my recording, I use mainly 3-4 mics...the ones that I found to be the best for what I want, and all those other mics just sit in their boxes, and only occasionally get used for a change of flavor.
Of the 3-4 mics that I do use most...my ADK TT/CE is used for EVERY song. It is my go-to vocal mic and none of my other mics can touch it, tonally. It's multi-pattern (19 patterns, front and back), so it covers a a LOT of tonal ground and could be used on all kinds of sources, but I mainly save it for vocals.

So what I'm getting it is...don't just fill up a mic locker with lots of mics, unless you really need lots of mics (like if you are recording full bands and whatnot), but even if you do need a lot of mics, you should always have at least one killer mic, especially one that just kicks ass on vocals.
(You can buy your fill of 57 and Sennheiser e609 mics any time).
 
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