USB or Jack?

Okay, so I have ONE mic that's never failed me; my mic from my old 360 Rock Band game has been my recording tool for a good year. Because it's for the 360, it's a USB DYNAMIC mic. However, I stopped by Radio Shack and found a 6.35mm Male to 3.5mm (the general jack size for headphones to iPods and MP3 players) Female jack. Two of them: one for Mono and one for Stereo. I'm considering buying this because a friend of mine who works with sound said that jack microphones work better than USB microphones.

So to those who record, which microphones do you prefer? Jacks or USBs?

Well, it all depends on your sound card. If your sound card is total crap, a jack wouldn't exactly be ideal for you but if you have a a good one, then jacks are a good choice since your recording would be the direct sound incoming to your card.

A lot of people recommend buying a USB audio-interface to plug your dynamic mic into rather than plugging it directly into the USB port, but that would cost you more money (usually at least US$100 if you want a decent one).

How can you tell what kind of sound card and how good/bad it is?

{Windows key} + {R Key}, enter dxdiag, hit {Enter key}, check your sound tabs and google for reviews.