A while back, Lukeprog set up an article to list the best textbooks in every subject. It currently contains a fairly large list of books in a variety of subjects.
I just got an e-mail from Amazon advertising "Up to 90% off textbooks" and I thought "This seems like a good opportunity to check out a bunch of cheap, good textbooks in subjects I want to learn about!"
When I went over to Luke's post, I discovered recommendations for philosophy, psychology, all sorts of math, but almost none in basic science.
I assume that someone here must have read one or a few basic textbooks on physics, biology, and chemistry. If so, what were they? How were they? Would I be better off just trying to take a basic lecture course in the subject, or going through Khan Academy?
I second the rec for Feynman volume 1: it was my favorite text as a freshman, though the class I took used another one. Since that was in the last millennium and I haven't kept up, I won't comment on other books. Volumes 2 and 3 won't be accessible to beginners.