No concessions necessary. We're both right. Most of the people here who ask beginner questions ("What's the best condensing mic under $100?", or "Do I need a condenser mic or a cardioid mic for vocals?") are the people I try to target with long explanations of how this stuff works.
The long term guys (who already know most of this stuff) are more likely to ask more specific and sophisticated questions when looking for a particular piece of gear.
I look at recording like carpentry. I know a few cabinetmakers who are great artists. They have the basic tools and use them to achieve what their goal is. Now, look at Yankee workshop with Norm McDonald. He has a specific tool for every single complicated step of any project. These are fancy, upscale, expensive tools that only a totally professional shop would be able to afford.
Both cabinetmakers can turn out the same quality of work, but Norm will do it in a very short time compared to the "basic tools" cabinetmaker.
You don't "need" expensive equipment to make a great recording, it is just much harder and demands some creative solutions to problems that expensive equipment can fix with the flip of a switch (sometimes).
A pro shop has no choice, if they want to turn a profit, than buy quality equipment and have lots of it. The home recordists can do recordings that will rival, and sometimes beat a pro shop. But, they have the luxury of spending relatively unlimited time to make the final product great. Pro shops have a budget of weeks and do many albums a month.
This BBS seems to make too many grey areas about pro vs. home equipment and too many arguments spawned because of it.
There is no argument, except among the ones who truly either don't understand the difference or don't want to, that pro equipment is far better than home-type equipment for many more reasons than just sound.
Home recording is just that, recording done in the home. The best equipment for this is what you can afford and the best tool you can have is experience with your studio. If you could walk into Abbey Road and put up a mic, play the guitar and record it, it would hit you straight between the eyes that the mic, console and recorder are almost insignificant compared to the highly engineered and properly built rooms and monitoring environment.
That is where the home recordists should look. Learn your equipment, fix your rooms and record.
The best _____ for under $100 is:
research, knowledge and experience in YOUR studio with YOUR equipment.