Firstly ... change your mic - if you want real close up vocals, you will need more than an SM58 to get them really clean. The SM58 suits hard and distance vocals better, and is perfect for live performance.
Keep your eyes out for a good Rode - you can often find them lurking around at good prices.
Generally, when recording vocals, like most here, I ask vocalists to do multiple takes, both on the core melody, and various "freeform" elements and licks.
I tend to "mono" record voice, rather than Stereo - make sure your software is set accordingly - remember, you can always add stereo effects by using VST or effects software, or by simply doubling the vocal, moving one a split second forwards and panning each track to the left and right according to the width in the voice that you want.
Also, record the vocals clean. I usually put a bit of reverb into the monitor for the vocalist to hear whilst recording, but I record the bare track - its easy to add effects, much more difficult to take them away..
I have noticed some differences in the ability of certain software to make good recordings. For example, Cubase has far superior recording than, say Acid Pro. I am not sure what software you are running!
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