Hi Allen and welcome.
I am going to bore everyone rigid by once again suggesting the Native Instruments Komplete Audio6 as the best interface for the money (£160 ish here).
As well as having two excellent mic/line/instru' inputs on the front it has two more balanced line ins at the rear which would take the Mix8 giving you two more mic inputs, 4 tracks, plus the convenient connection of other gear. Also have S/PDIF and MIDI.
Comes with a lite Cubase which is nevertheless very powerful and should see you right for a good while. Reaper is also worth a look.
Mics? Very personal things but an SM57 is handy(!) and I strongly recommend one, better two, Small Diaphragm Capacitors. But I dare say you can "borrow" stuff and see what works?
Dave.