It seems to be common advice to record conversations as a means of defense and/or evidence during proceedings.

A PI advised me that Olympus makes inexpensive but high performing digital recorders.

To that end an Olympus W-852 was purchased, price is $40-ish depending on the store.

It has dual microphones and a variety of settings to optimize quality. plenty of storage, sd card expandable, and built in usb to transfer recordings to a computer. The initial set of batteries lasted for about 48 hours of recording.

So far it's been a good unit that can be kept in a shirt pocket or hoodie kangaroo pocket and produces good quality recordings in a group setting.

Please note, laws in regards to recording conversations vary. Make sure you're keeping it legal!!