The Focusrite is great gear and you won't go wrong with it, but I don't know the price point. You may also take a look at the PreSonus AudioBox USB, which I have been using for two years with great results for my purposes. Last time I checked (a couple of days ago) Guitar Center had a bundle with a mic, headphones, and cables for $200. (The interface by itself sells for $150.) Its limitations are that it only samples to 24 bit/48 kHz (you may want more), it only has two channels (ditto), and I'm not sure whether it has preamps. This doesn't bother me since I run everything through a mixer first.

Any package comes with an introductory version of PreSonus' Studio One DAW software. Remember, though, you get the RealBand DAW with BIAB. It has a few limitations, but that is far outweighed by the fact that the two programs are designed to work together seamlessly while retaining many of BIAB's unique features.

HTH,

Richard


"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."