There's no definitive answer for this, it really depends on what you want and what you have to work with. I think the Lyric probably comes the closest of any "pickup" to making a decent recording. But it's mono, and won't have the same "air" that a decent pair of mics in a stereo recording is capable of making. On the other hand, if your room acoustics are terrible, a pickup might be better than dealing with mics. it also provides some isolation if you want to sing at the same time. Personally, what I recommend as a baseline for recording is something like a Zoom H2 or H4 (or equivalent in some other brand). People make *very* nice recordings with those, simply by sitting them on the table in front of them in a living room and pushing the button. That's the baseline, and anything else you do is only worth while if you can beat that. If you want a pickup for live performance, that's one thing. If your focus is on recording, I'd use mics, and I'd start with a "point and shoot" hand-held and move up from there as you learn more and want more control.
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