Hi Jason,
Welcome aboard! Sounds like you've got some major life experience behind you. I'm about to arrive at midlife crisis myself...at 39 next year!
If you would allow me to address the Audition vs all the other recorders, I'll put in my two cents.
I've used Audition for several years. I love the program. It's powerful and fast. When I say powerful, I mean it has LOTS of bells and whistles and presets that are helpful. If you don't have much audio recording experience however, you could easily drown in it!
One of the major features I use a lot in audition is that it is a multi-track recorder/editor. You can layer and stack lots of audio tracks with SFX and voices and instruments. ME PERSONALLY? I wouldn't say it's a necessity for
VO. It's fun and all that, but it's complete overkill for a voiceover, some music and a SFX or two.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I've used a voice dictation program called wavepad. I downloaded it when it was a free program (there may not be a free version any more, but I'm not sure). I use wavepad to record professional VOs several times a week (my 8-5 job is in video production at a cable company) on a laptop computer. When using the same mic, it sounds no different than audition. Wavepad is limited to one voice track and a few effects like compression, noise reduction, pitch shifting and a few others, but it is BARE BONES and it works.
I'm not recommending or discouraging either program...but just throwing in some thought. I like Sound Forge too and i have a friend who swears by Goldwave. So I'm sure I've muddied the waters abit...
and I guess I'll see ya 'round!!!!
One more comment here, I'm glad to hear that I'm not a complete oddball. You and Joe both have mentioned using the SM58. I have to admit, it's hard to go wrong with one. I've got access to a few different mics including the EV-RE20. For me personally, I don't like the RE-20 because it "squashes" the emotion right out of my reads. I can barely tell I'm inflecting at all! That mic is known for reducing the proximity effect (the closer you get, the more of a bassy sound you record)....for me it reduces more than just the proximity effect. It reduces my satisfaction level! Still, it's a good mic...just not for ME. Ya gotta find the right one for your own voice...SM58 does fairly well for me, and I have a Peavy somethin' something' (can't remember the numbers) that I like too.
Again, welcome to the boards.
--Jay