Dynamic vs. condenser. Condensers aren't better, they're different. Dynamics generally have lower output, so they need a preamp that can give them some good clean gain. Condensers are generally more sensitive, which can be good for capturing the fine details of something, but they will also capture the fine details of music played badly in a noisy room.
Whether I chose a dynamic or a condenser as a first mic would depend on what I'm supposed to plug it into, and the room I have to use it in. If there's any background noise, a dynamic will usually be less critical. If you have a mic preamp, even a fairly cheap one, such as DMP3 or VTB1, I'd probably start with SM57 or AKG D770. If you're going into a digital recorder with phantom power, using the preamps in the standalone, I'd start with a condenser, like Marshall MXL V67 or Studio Projects B-1. Note that condenser mics require power fed back up the cable to the mic, called phantom power. This is provided by most preamps, and by most mixers, which contain preamps, but not by most soundcards. If you don't have a preamp, and you don't have a mixer, then you are going to need one. If you're using a digital recorder, it may or may not produce phantom power. The little ones usually don't.
So- tell us what you intend to plug this mic into, and you'll get better answers. Regarding the 4 mics I named above, I have confidence that they do what that type of mic does very well, for the money.-Richie
