SM7dB

I would not buy a Cloudlifter just so I can use a mediocre mic like the Samson S9U. Seems like a waste of money. I would not buy an SM7B or SM7DB just for work calls and gaming. That’s ballpark $500 just so your coworkers and gaming buddies can hear you. People want the SM7B because we are living in an era of peak SM7B hype… every streamer and podcaster seems to use one. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good mic, but you shouldn’t buy an expensive mic just for the hype. Get a Røde NT1 or AT2035 or similar large-diaphragm condenser under $200. These all have higher sensitivity, which means you can turn the gain down on your audio interface. You’ll sound clear and the mic will work great with your interface. IMO, spending $400 instead of $200 doesn’t get you a much better mic. Most of the really good-sounding mics cost somewhere north of $700, with a few excellent, less-expensive dynamics below that price point (but you need more gain to use them).

The Shure MV7 over USB did everything I ever needed. But I have a very specific audio profile in my head that I am constantly chasing. Running it through XLR and learning to treat it got me another few %. Then recently, I bought an SM7DB. That had its own learning curve and then got me another few more % towards the sound in my head. Your content only *needs* a decent USB mic and the knowledge to use it. If you enjoy chasing particular parts of audio and have the funds and time to spend doing that instead of other stream things, and fancier mics help you do that, then yes it's worth it in that sense. I make videos that are hours long from my streams, with the intention that people can listen all day or as they're falling to sleep, and I want it to sound the way I would want to listen to. Much like a $300-500 guitar will perform perfectly at what 99% of musicians will ever need to do, but high-dollar instruments can be justified - but lack of one is not reason to not get started, and buying one can't replace skill and education. IMO

Good quality top SM7db with Scarlett 2i2. A really good mic that will do the job extremely well, the HyperX QuadCast If you start the second, if you are pro the first

I have the SM7db which has a built in preamp. Which I honestly didn't need as I am using an external mixing desk with midas preamps, a boss rc600 with more gain options, all going into a focusrite with more gain. I upgraded from an sm58 and while the difference is massive for me as a musician, I don't know if chat notices a difference. If you have money to burn, go for it, but it's not really essential to start out.

Low-end: Maono PD400X ($142 recently was $112) Sounds like a professional podcast mic and looks the part with how well it's constructed. Ran this on mine for two months. Runs USB or XLR. Mid-range: Rode Podmic USB ($200+ currently $193) Top quality, decent sound, and well respected in the industry. If you get the new USB version you also get a pop filter sleeve for it. Runs USB or XLR. High-range Shure SM7dB ($549) I bought one and not a fan yet, but people swear by them. I'm sorting out some issues with it now before I make a final decision (it requires a LOT of gain to sound good but also gets noisy). Runs on XLR. Shure does sell a USB adapter/interface.