Prepare. It should go without saying that when recording anything, the more prepared you are, the better the performance will be. Practice your vocals before hand, and decide what you'd like to achieve through your performance. In particular, think about dynamics (changes in volume) and diction (the clarity of your words). Before you start recording, it's essential to warm up your voice.
Record. The better the microphone and recording technique, the better the outcome. The microphone you use will depend on the studio in which you record, or if you are recording at home, the microphone you can afford to buy or rent. Some recommended, but expensive, microphones include the AKG C12, Neumann U47, Telefunken and SE Gemini. When recording, always use a pop shield, which will help eradicate sibilance (the hiss of an 's' sound) and use good mic techniques, such as moving your mouth away from the microphone when singing louder.
Apply compression. Compression is the control of dynamic range within a recording, and it can be applied before (as the sound comes through) or after recording. It can help control a particularly wild performance because it controls the louder levels to make the distance between loud and quiet shorter. Be careful not to overcompress vocals, which can dampen the emotions of a performance.
Use EQ, which allows you or your studio engineer/producer to boost or reduce certain frequencies within a sound wave. Most music production software comes with EQ presets, such as main pop voice or backing vocals, and can be applied to add a generic EQ setting to your recording. However, the presets should be tweaked to bring out the best qualities in your voice. For example, if you have a high voice, you may want to boost some of the lower frequencies to add more depth or even remove the lower frequencies to add a crisper sound to your high range.
Use reverb. This simple plug-in, available on all music production software, creates the effect of reverberation around a room. If you record in a very sonically dry room, your voice will lack that warmth that a larger room can give. The type of reverb required will depend on the type of music you are recording. If you are recording classical music, you may want to use a reverb setting to make it sound like you've recorded live in a church hall.
Use Melodyne, which is specialist production software that will help really perfect your vocal sound. The software allows users to tweak vocal recordings at an extreme level. You can add subtle or dramatic autotuning as well as make subtle changes to timing so that every note is perfectly in time and accurate in pitch.