You concentrate on your strengths and get others to fill in the areas in which you are weak.......so if you want great recordings get a great producer then go to a proper studio.....hire the best session musicians to cover the parts you cannot....but if you want to do it ALL by yourself.....then invest the time cause it is a pretty steep learning curve.....I am thinking perhaps pre-amps are the least of your worries.
BTW get a decent audio interface and you will not need a preamp....assuming you want digital as opposed to analog.
Do not want to get into an argument about dig v analog.....but digital is possibly the preferred option for newbies or home studios.