1. BB Flashback Express
This is my hands-down winner! It is so easy to use that you'll have your first screen recording video within two minutes of install or your money back. Oh, wait, it's free! Seriously, the wizard-driven interface is so wickedly easy that it leads you through the recording. There are lots of options, but are hidden so as not to be confusing.
On the other hand, the video can be incompatible with certain versions of Vista and your display hardware. But the problem can be solved by adjusting your options after a quick reboot. The thing that did it for me was unchecking hardware acceleration.
The good: Free. Super easy to use.
The bad: Screen incompatibility issues can arise.
2. Camtasia Studio
Extremely easy to use and extremely full-featured! Also extremely expensive ... around $300. This is great software, but for most of us, the cheaper or free versions are plenty.
The good: The most robust recording and editing tool in the world!
The bad: Very expensive.
3. ScreenToaster.com
You don't even need to download the software for this one. Okay, a small Internet applet has to be installed, but it is tiny and takes just a couple of seconds. This is web-based software, so you'll be recording in mere minutes and you won't worry about uninstalling anything later. And your videos can be stored on their server in high-quality.
The videos you record can be edited, although the editing interface isn't exactly simple. However, the worst part of it is that all of your videos have a big ScreenToaster watermark in the lower right. If you can live with that, this is a great choice.
The good: Internet-based. Super-tiny install. Easy to record.
The bad: That stinking watermark. Not easy to edit.
4. Jing
Jing is Camtasia's little brother. This software is also fairly easy and is also free. Unfortunately some of the best features have been held back so we'll want to spend the dough on Camtasia.
The good: Great, easy software. Free!
The bad: Five-minute limit. Features are withheld.
5. Corel Video Studio
From the venerable folks at Corel comes this nice piece of software. It is very slick and works like a champ. And it plays well with Corel Paint Shop Pro. Easy recording and fairly easy editing, although it takes some getting used to because it does so much. In fact, that's the main problem with this software is that it does everything ... including video editing and transfer. In other words, if you're looking for a full video suite, you might as well move this to the #1 spot. But we're just looking at screen capture so this is overkill.
The good: Extremely full-featured.
The bad: Does too much. Costs about $50.