To those without a mic some alternatives...

Dollerama
Giant Dollar
Dollar Tree
etc... all carry cell phone mics for 2$
Virgin was one of the brands i found and im not sure of the other.... each store is different but they will work.

They are small jack earbuds usually or a single ear peace...
they do work and at least youll be able to talk or hear whats going on in game chat or party chat.

If you can't get ahold of one and have a usb pc keyboard they will plug into your xbox 360 controller port. Most microsoft certified keyboards will work... to test it just go to create a message with the controller and then type with the keyboard the message.

Also if you can find a chatpad they are great too...

Just some things that work which are affordable...

The microsoft default headset is 15$ which is semi decent quality... but they tend to break, snap, give feedback after prolongued use.

The next best thing up is the wireless bluetooth like charger mic but you only get 2 hours out of a 6 hour charge.

My recomendation is save up and buy a turtle beach x11 which is wired and can be plugged into dvd, vcr as well. Simply keep the usb cable in your xbox but it doesnt need to be turned on. Then plug your dvd audio cables into the turtle beach ones and walla.. turtle beach dvd or blue ray.

If you do have a nice pay check and want the best i recommend x31s which i use but they run on aa batteries. I ended up buying a duracell 15 min charger and rechargeable batteries. I used to use energizer but they dont hold their charge. Also check the tops of the batteries if they have a white cylinder at the top they are the ones you want. The black cylinder ones don't hold their charge well and work well for dvd remotes etc.

I hear astros and the other turtle beaches are top notch but never purchased any.

Still buck for buck x11's x13's might be worth saving up for since they work in many devices including pc. A wired afterglow controller found at walmart works and its pretty decent.

Anyone have any other alternatives please feel free to comment or add to this.
Not everyone can afford good mics or controllers and alot of us are on a budget.

I guess i should also mention the web might be a good idea for finding used mics etc...
craigslist, ebay, amazon etc... again though your dealing with used and your not totally sure on the condition of the product.

Steelseeries Siberia v2 with Astro Mix amp if you have the money.

How much they go for?

I suggest these if you have the money:
http://www.afterglowgaming.com/

depends what you're looking for...

might as well get one with a headset if you're just using it for online gaming.

Astro A40's get my vote as best headset for console gaming. Unfortunately it's the new mix-amps that cause problems.

However my favorite will probably always be the sennheiser HD555 series that dominated the scene before Astro's sponsored MLG. Pretty annoying having to scream, but goddamn were they great. Ahh nostalgia.