Instead of holding up a lighter at the next concert (do people still do that, or am I showing my age?), hold up the Samson Zoom H2 mic. About the size of a celllphone from 10 years ago, the H2 has four speakers in its retro head that records everything 360 degrees around you — which I guess means you'll get as much of the tubercular guy coughing behind you as the performer in front of you.

In either event, you can record in 96/48/44.1-kHz, 16- or 24-bit WAV or MP3 up to 320 kbps, then download your recording via USB our connect it to a sound system via old-fashioned analog RCA jacks. For $199, the H2 also includes 512MB of internal memory and can accommodate up to 8GB SD cards. Naturally, you can use it as a Podcast mic or to record lectures in case you fall asleep during that too-early class.