AKG - P420

First I'm going to assume this is looking at this from the perspective of recording spoken word, as I don't see a reference to your use case which is a very important detail. You mentioned that you have a Neweer-100 Phantom Power Supply, and how you'd be worried it wouldn't work. Functionally a Phantom Power Supply just supplies +48V, which is the universal voltage for almost any condenser mic or phantom power powered item. That being said though, the fact that you own one of those makes me think you don't have an audio interface and that you are using an XLR to 3.5mm or XLR to USB cable. If that is indeed the case, if you are to seriously consider upgrading to a different XLR microphone, you shouldn't do so unless without also buying a real audio interface. An audio interface will be able to supply phantom power, as well as have a high quality dedicated mic pre and ad/da conversion, among many other creature comforts. Thankfully you can get them at a fairly reasonable price. Something like the Focusrite Vocaster One is only 40 bucks. I'm curious what you think you need a switchable polar pattern for. I totally respect needing one, but again, looking at this from the perspective of spoken word, I don't see much use for it outside of interview or large group recording. Yes indeed mics with switchable polar patterns are more expensive, but you can't really get around that. They require 2 identical capsules as well as the circuitry to switch between them, so they will inherently be more expensive. Probably the cheapest XLR mic from a reputable brand is the AKG P420. There is also options like the Apex 445B, but I don't personally know much about them to vouch for it. When it comes to tonality of a mic, it's a super subjective thing. This idea of "neutral" is more of an idea rather than factual measurement in most cases. This variation in why you think something sounds natural and somebody else doesn't, can come down to you're own personal idea of it in your head, but also to what you are listening on. You're speakers, headphones, phone, tv, or whatever you are listening on has it's own tone that will influence whatever you are listening to. You need a trained ear and you need to learn the response of whatever you are listening on. The SM58 is a common pick mostly out of it's more "podcast" tone. Being a dynamic, it's more rolled off in its top end and has a similar mid characteristic to something like the fabled SM7b. The AT2040 is very much targeted at that "podcast" tone, but I personally think it's harsher in the top end and doesn't have as robust of a low end. The AT2020 is a condenser and thus has more top end extension which gives it that more "natural" sound people talk about. It was fabled back in its day for being a decent microphone for a really good price. The thing is that was 20 years ago, and there's been a whole lot of options to compete. I find compared to a lot of modern options, the AT2020 while it has pronounced top end, is fairly unpleasant or harsh in that frequency range. At a similar price, the Lewitt LCT 240 Pro has a similarly pronounced top end, while being more pleasing, and the sE Electronic X1a is a little flatter sounding, still being present, but more smooth sounding. Both of these options are only cardioid though, so that's obviously a consideration. Ultimately if you only want to spend 100 bucks and you absolutely need switchable polar patterns, I don't think you'll find anything cheaper than the Blue Yeti. That is not my indorsement for the Blue Yeti though. It's totally fine, but I think so many other mics perform better tonally, but also in terms of features. You certainly can go XLR under 300 dollars, but that obviously comes down to your willingness to pay that.

I’m going to second getting a decent ~$200 ldc condenser mic. Learning to sound good on something like the akg p420 will be better long term, only if you’re not planning on playing live with it. If this is your only mic for now and you may use it live go with the sm58. Everyone should own one. I used one for vocals in several recordings but none I would call professional quality.

AKG P220 or P420... I've used these and, as long as you don't have a particularly deep voice, they can sound pretty good with a little bit of dynamics/eq.

Akg p420. I’ve seen used for $75. I have one, clearly not the endgame, but good to experiment and learn- which seems more aligned

I'm using an AKG P420 it's pretty good.

For what you're recording I'd suggest an AKG P420 or an SM7 like i was, neither have let me down