Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
"I've found myself using my PC for a lot of conversations lately, and I'm also considering recording a podcast to share with anyone who will listen. There are tons of USB headset / microphones out there, and I'm hoping someone has some solid recommendations based on experience. I'll consider both headsets and standalone mics, by the way, but I'd like to keep the bill under $100 if possible. Help!"
A lot of people here are very reluctant to give up 4:3. If I had a nickel for every time a customer tells me they'd rather have a 4:3 set to see the top of the picture rather than see out wide but lose the tops of peoples heads, I'd have a lot of nickels.
** For those of you that have stumbled upon the page and don't know 16:9 doesn't crop the top and bottom, but 4:3 does as well as the sides. Also you're not losing anything in the black bars, and I mean anything. Black bars aka "letterboxing" occurs when the video/film was shot in a different aspect ratio than the screen you're watching it on, nothing as "chopped off".