How best to become a proficient Photoshop user (or better)??

Hello all,
I'd appreciate a steer.
I am an enthusiastic amateur digital photographer. I am also fairly proficient with computer stuff generally (my degree). In terms of digital photography, I'm off the bottom of the curve but not by much: I understand white balance, the rudiments of colour spaces, luminance, contrast, etc... but as soon as it gets complex I am out of my depth. Bottom line is I think I understand it as well, or better, than most people who come to Photoshop for the first time. So far with PS (CS4) I have managed to remove minor blemishes, fix red eye, adjust contrast and colour to make photos more interesting - but (for example) I got stuck when trying to remove an image from the background.
BASICALLY I want to know how best to learn PS to a professional level; I am smart enough to pick stuff up fast but too busy to attend a training course. So I'm looking for the best book, or the best video tutorial, or whatever that will take me from understanding the basics (tools, brushes, layers, etc) all the way through to being able to create pre-press standard images and "alternative art"!
What do you pros out there recommend, if you can remember that far back? I am thinking I can devote a few hours per week (3-6) and will keep studying as long as it takes.
Hope to hear from you,
Thanks
Alastair

As Curt says, Lynda.com does really have great tutorials, but there are a lot of good ones out there that are free.  For example, Deke McClelland has posted great videos on the top 40 features of Photoshop (his choice of features of course) on his blog http://www.deke.com/dekepod.  (Feature one and two haven't been posted yet.)
Regarding books, I recommend that you go to a bookstore or a site like Amazon.com, where you can preview some of the chapters of the books and read reader reviews.  This is because people learn in different ways, and you need books that cater to your style of learning.  I got the Classroom in a Book books for Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign at a discount when I registered my Adobe software, but I don't use them.  I recently bought Martin Evening's Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Photographers, and it is much better for me. You might like something completely different.  It would be great if you would report back on what works best for you.  Good luck!

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