My wife used to teach at a high school that used an inexpensive
Audio-Technica mic (ATR-30) and a JVC CD-R deck (XL-R5020BK) to create
practice CDs for voice students. The total price was under $500.

Now that she's in private practice, she'd like to get some similar
equipment -- but within the same budget, though I'm willing to spend a
bit more if the results will be clearly noticeable. I've observed that
musicians tend to pay more attention to the music than to the quality
of the reproduction. Some of her students would be happy to get MP3s
for their iPods -- which gives you an idea what level of fidelity is
required.

Her voice students range from wispy-voiced girls to full-throated
dramatic sopranos and Ethel-Merman-class belters. (The men are neither
as rangy nor as loud.)

In another thread, Amy Krueger recommended SM-57s and -58s for a choir;
would those work for this application?

Should I get a CD-R deck, or are there RAM-based options now?

One great advantage of the JVC was that it had a mic jack; that level
of simplicity was nice, since she knows nothing -- and I know precious
little -- about audio engineering.

Thanks for your help!