Audio Technica makes good quality mics that aren't overly expensive, not just the small 943 and 853 series, but 'normal' full-body small diaphragm condensers (SDCs). They might be your best bet. Sanken also makes 'normal' cardioids and an omni but they are less common with music recordists here at Taper's Section and I don't have an idea of their cost. I do know their miniature omni lav (COS11) is about the same cost as the DPA 4060 series, which is more costly than the miniature AT microphones.
Thanks for the comments, I had forgotten about those samples. Keeping things simple, you're probably best advised to try the more typical 2-channel stereo recording setups most people use around here and ignore that stuff for now. I tend to use some odd recording setups, and enjoy figuring out what might work better, when and why. I like sharing what I've learned doing those kind of things here, and I think what is most important is not so much outlining specific ways of doing things, but exploring the ideas behind what works, and good ways to think about the problems.
It's not dumbing down, its starting with the most important practical questions to get started, then maybe getting more sophisticated from there if that interests you and you want to keep improving your recording techniques.