There probably is no "best way".
However, depending on your budget, some suggestions can be made.
- For about $40-150, you can get an analog
(cassette) recorder. Unfortunately, analog tape has inherent hiss.
- For about $200-$400, you can get a
minidisc (MD) recorder. MDs allow digital recording, but it's only
14-bit quality.
- For about $650-$1200, you can get a DAT
recorder. DATs allow full 24-bit quality.
I'm no audio expert, though I record a fair
number of shows. In my opinion, if you're recording live shows, you
won't miss those bits that a MD recorder doesn't record. If you're
recording studio stuff, you should probably spring for the DAT.
Many cassette recorders have internal mics.
Most, if not all, MD and DAT recorders require an external mic. The
mic is not somewhere to skimp. If you get the best DAT recorder in the
world, and pair it with a crappy mic, you're going to have a crappy
boot every time. In the rare event that an artist grants you
soundboard access, you won't need a mic, you can just plug straight
into the board (however, you'll need cables for this).
I use a Sony MZ-R55 recorder, and a set of
CoreSound Binaural mics. It's by no means the best setup in the world,
but it is very small and portable. Best of all, it fits my budget.
I've had very good luck dealing with the folks at www.minidisco.com
for my MD needs. Len, the owner of www.core-sound.com
has also been most helpful.
John Ramsey (of Ramsey Electronics) also has
let me know about some other mics which are considerably less
expensive, but still sound quite nice. they can be found at www.bargainparts.com/products/eyemics.htm
Placement of the mics is quite important.
Stay away from walls, as they will add noticeable echo to anything you
record. Basically, it requires a good deal of experimentation to
decide where the best place is to use your particular setup. The first
row of a balcony will work quite well for most venues. The biggest
challenge that I find is avoiding crowd noise as much as possible.