Having Zebra Finches as Pets?

My husband is really wanting birds for pets, but I have been fighting him on it for a long time now because I saw someone on TV say that pet birds never shut up, even if you cover up the cage. I feel bad that I keep telling him no so I thought I would do a little research on it. He said he would like to get some finches and I read that zebra finches are the easiest birds to keep as pets so I thought I would ask about those. Also, how much of a pain is it to keep their cages clean? Any info would be greatly appreciated, thank you.