I am two years into guitar playing and I really didn't learn much until I joined GT. I was a member of Jamplay and it was good but I found it to be stale. I agree with someone above that said you should go through the Basic courses. You may wind up breezing past Basic I and get something out of Basic II. While learning through these, hit some songs. I found that once I stopped being a baby and really trying songs out I tended to learn much faster. There is nothing like learning a song, especially one you already know and master it by keepin up with the band track. You realize that you are playing something like your heroes at least for that one song. Combining the Basics courses, then moving on to Blues, Rock or Country and learning songs is the way my friend. I wouldn't deal with books for now unless you are the detailed knowledge based type. Have fun!