Originally Posted by mynameisjim

Depends on your price range of course. The more money the better the sound but there is a law of diminishing returns, especially if your other equipment is not as good as the preamp.

For an entry level preamp, I would say go with something like a Focusrite Scarlett. Pretty good sound, the drivers are solid under Windows and if you get one like the 8i6, you can use it to play live shows depending on what you are doing.

http://www.focusrite.com/

That's just my personal opinion though, I'm not saying it's the best since I have no idea what music you are making or anything like that. But that's a good place to start looking for a dedicated preamp that will allow guitars, bass, or vocals to be recorded.