Audio-first. Everything else is optional.
Your listeners forgive a bad shirt. They don't forgive a bad mic. Get audio right, then treat the room, then worry about video.
Cheapest options with the strongest reviews. Sorted budget → premium.
The default webcam recommendation for a decade for good reason. 1080p, stereo mics, glass lens, and enough autofocus stability to survive any lighting condition. The privacy shutter on the C920s version is worth the extra $10.
The studio standard for four decades. Not fashionable. Not wireless. Just great, honest sound and comfortable enough for long sessions. If you edit audio, buy them.
The mic that ends the 'my audio is bad' meeting complaint. Cheaper than a nice lunch, sounds better than a Blue Yeti on a boom arm, and dead simple: plug in USB, done.
A boom arm changes cheap mics from tolerable to good. This one clamps hard, doesn't sag, and includes a pop filter. Absurd value.
The real thing, not the Amazon foam that crumbles in a year. Twelve wedges is enough for a small room's first reflection points, which is what actually matters.
An alternative to one item in the kit above. Not required, but for the the podcaster this is where extra dollars actually pay back over years.
The podcast splurge that isn't a waste. Dynamic capsule rejects your kids in the next room, dual USB/XLR so it grows with you, and the auto-level feature is genuinely useful for interviews.
USB. A $70 FiFine K669B beats a $200 XLR mic run through a bad interface. Upgrade to XLR when you outgrow it.