I taught the physics core curriculum at Caltech for five years, so I'll do what I can to help. For many of the classes at Caltech, we never found a truly satisfying textbook, but when you're learning on your own that's still the route I recommend. This means putting textbooks back on your list for consideration. Buying a textbook for a full 1-2 year college-level physics sequence costs less than $200, <i>much</i> less if you buy used. You have parents, right? Now they know what to get you for your birthday.<p>Your immediate goal should be to get a firm grounding in classical physics, which will be important for everything else you do. When choosing a textbook, the most important thing is to pick one that's aimed at scientists and engineers. That means it should be calculus-based, "algebra-based physics" being a contradiction in terms. If you don't know calculus, you should start there. (This will set you back some more money. Sounds like a plan for Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.)<p>To my knowledge, none of the introductory texts are truly great, but I did some poking around and <i>University Physics</i> by Young, Freedman, and Ford looks like a good bet. If you need to learn calculus, <i>Calculus</i> by Larson and Edwards looks decent. Get the most recent editions if you can afford them, but I'm sure older editions are fine. Those two books alone should take you a year or two to consume, and they are likely to be <i>very</i> challenging unless you have an exceptional preparation in mathematics. But even if you get stuck occasionally, you'll still be <i>way</i> ahead of the curve. (I wish someone had put a calculus-based physics textbook in my hands when I was in high school. I would have been <i>unstoppable</i>. Unfortunately, though it now seems impossible, I went to high school before Amazon or even the Web, so it simply never occurred to anyone.)<p>I recommend supplementing the textbooks with liberal use of Khan Academy videos and Wikipedia articles. More than anything, it is essential to solve a large number of exercises. Developing a good physical intuition is important, but physics is a quantitative discipline, which means being able to do calculations.<p>One more thing: if you want to demonstrate your competence to the world (and to college admissions committees), it's a good idea to take the AP Physics exam (B or C) at some point. The AP Physics C exam is the best one to target if you only have enough time to take one, as it will let you test out of introductory courses at many schools. (Not at Caltech though—we have a separate system of placement exams.) Take a look at the AP Physics C website to see the syllabus. If you decide to take the exam, buying a test-prep book such as <i>5 Steps to a 5 AP Physics B&C</i> is probably a good idea. If you go this route, try to negotiate with your school to get course credit for your independent study.<p>P.S. At some point, read <i>The Feynman Lectures on Physics</i>. FLP doesn't make for a good introduction, but after you have a foundation it's gold.