Parmenion,
I have been using tarot cards for 10 years now and though I don't know what sources you are using for reccomendations, I think there are *many* good decks out there for you to consider.
I do agree that the Thoth and the Rider-Waite are good decks. I have used both of those decks as well as the Robin Wood deck, the Golden Dawn deck designed by Sandra and Chic Cicero and the Motherpeace round deck. I think different decks have different "feels" to them, dependent on the artwork.
The Rider-Waite is considered a standard deck if not "the" standard deck and is often a good deck for beginners to start with. The Thoth deck is an advanced deck that depends on a good, broad occult knoledge to really get the most out of it. Either deck would be good to use but I feel you are limiting your choices if you only consider those two decks. Try looking at samples of other decks to see which ones may appeal to you.
I don't read many books on tarot, preferring to use my own intution for the most part. I do read the books that come with the decks to see where the designer is coming from while designing the deck. I also have one book by Juliet Sharman-Burke called The Complete Book of Tarot that is a great place to start learning tarot.
I'd also like to reccomend two websites that may help you with tarot. These are www.tarotpassages.com for links and articles on tarot and www.aeclectic.net which has an astounding compilation of samples from hundreds of decks and a good forum for tarot discussion.
If you have any other questions for me please post them on this forum
Good luck
!Sylverwillow