I have some results and there seems to be a consensus for Sedgewick's. There was a course on Coursera mentioned. Close second is Kleinberg's and Skiena's. TOA

I have some results and there seems to be a consensus for Sedgewick's. There was a course on Coursera mentioned. Close second is Kleinberg's and Skiena's. TOACP and CLRS apparently are considered reference reads and not starting material. I think I know pretty much where to start. Thank you all.