Hi all. I am really new to the world of microphones and I'm overwhelmed after reading for a few hours. I need a microphone to simply sit on my desk and record spoken voice. I also need a zero latency headphone monitor jack on the mic. Ideally this will be a mic in the $100ish price range and USB. If I have to spend more, convince me why! I still need USB, but I could use a Blue Icicle (or similar) if I end up convinced to buy an XLR mic.

I bought the Blue Yeti thinking this would do the trick, and it does sound good. My problem is that I don't have a great recording environment and the Yeti can hear everything going on in the house, even on Cardioid mode. It also hears even the lightest tap on the desk and even my mouse moving. It's ridiculously sensitive for my needs. I swear this thing can hear a silent fart from three rooms away and can hear me take a breath even if I'm sitting 3 feet from the mic. I suppose I could spend money on a mic stand, shock mount, and pop filter, but I suspect there may be a better microphone for my specific needs - hopefully within my budget... This does not have to be professional quality. It just has to sound "good enough". Heck, some of what I'm recording is going to end up on a phone system that requires a low pass filter at 4k and sampling at 8k (which as you know is poor quality). I would like a decent mic so I can use it for other things though should I choose to in the future. (That does not mean I need a Neumann, nor can I afford one).

On the Yeti, I've turned the gain all the way down and lowered the microphone sensitivity in the "sounds" section of the Windows 7 Control panel. It's still way too sensitive. If you can make any settings suggestions that might keep me from having to return it, that would be great... I have Audacity for software. Is there something I can "turn on" in that software to ignore the super low volume background noises I'm trying to keep out of my track? Or maybe there's another software package I should be considering?

As far as replacing it with something else, I saw some recommendations on here for the RODE Podcaster, but it's a little more money than I'd prefer to spend. If I have to, I will, but I am hoping to stay in the $100ish price range.

Other mics I've read about are:
MXL Tempo
AT2020

Your expert opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!