As far as a microphone goes, it could be hit and miss. I started with a Shure SM58. I hated it, it sounded pinched and nasal. I went to a LDC Neumann TLM 193. I should have never sold it! Huge difference. It was a flat mic, some say dark sounding, it didn't have a presence bump, so sometimes it was hard to hear yourself if the music was heavy at those frequencies. I also acquired an AKG 414TLII around that time, it had a presence boost, but sounded artificial compared to the Neumann. Once I also had a Neumann M149 Tube mic, I bought it used at a large discount, because many thought it didn't sound like a "tube" mic or what they thought a tube mic should sound like, it was a great mic, but I gave it to a friend after I got a Telefunken. The Telefunken also has a tube, though really I have no preference for tubes, I'd just as soon not have them! I bought an old 60's era Beyerdynamic off ebay for scratch recordings so I didn't have to set up the tube mic, and really it is a great mic, I'd use it for recording vocals. I about forgot about the Cascade ribbon mic. It peaks about 7k, there's nothing special about it, the ribbon is fragile, it's very natural, probably better for horns or old timey sounding vocals, takes a lot of power to drive, no sparkle.
I steered clear of dynamic mics for a long time after owning the SM58,lol! The Beyer has sort of changed my perspective. Telefunken has a few dynamics out that may be worth trying out, there's even a large diaphragm M82, that might be a little adventurous.
That's been the extent of my experience with mics. If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably just get a Neumann U87. It has the presence boost that is lacking in the TLM 193. I'm not sure what the cardioid only version is. The history of vocal mics are probably all centered around AKG/Neumann with Telefunken versions at different times of the AKG or Neumann, and then today there is the eastern European division of Neumann, who makes the better versions of what mic is really crazy, or even what mic was derived from what mic,lol! I suppose my ideal mic would probably be a pristine Telefunken Elam 251? Derived from the AKG C12.
Okay, so now the $3000 something U87 sounds pretty cheap compared to a new $10,000 Telefunken Elam 251 remake
It's easy to get carried away.
I don't know if that's helpful or confusing. Often times it seems like it is splitting hairs, and it is. The best thing is perhaps a try before you buy, or a 30 day demo where you can return in like new condition and not be charged if you don't like it. There's also used, but you have to be careful, and often times it's not much cheaper than new.