One cannot maintain a website called "CLARINET.WOODWINDS.COM" without maintaing some pretense of providing resources for clarinet players. That was, after all, the originial intention of this site before its author went to law school. Mere stubborness has kept him from giving up on the ownership of these pages.
What qualifies CLARINET.WOODWINDS.COM to give you advice? CLARINET Esq. obtained an undergraduate degree in Music from James Madison University in 1998. While there, CLARINET Esq. played the entire family of clarinets. Upon graduation, CLARINET Esq. worked for a musical instrument retailer where he specialized in clarinet equipment and electronics for three years.
CLARINET Esq. will assume that you play clarinet, or you are thinking about playing clarinet. Here then, are CLARINET Esq.'s recommendations for clarinet equipment for the beginner, the intermediate player, the advanced player, and the professional player.
CLARINET.WOODWINDS.COM's advice on this subject is really just a starting point - 99% of clarinet playing occurs above the mouthpiece.