Best book series for 2003 MCSE

Ok guys, I have experience on 2003 already and I am finding its time now (while I am gainfully employed and have the dough) to go ahead an knock out the rest of my certs. I have been shruggu\ing off MCSE for a long time and I want to go straight for the 2003 cert. The problem is, I went to Amazon (and a couple of other sites) researching which books would be the best study guide. No books I have found have the listing I find desireable. Virtually everyone who has put in a review has the same line.."This is NOT the only set of books you will need!". OK, I believe this is true for a beginner, but I am just looking for the best study guide that will take me down the path the test itself takes. I dont care about trial software and the like coming with the books since I have full access to my own private domain at work.

What is the best book series out there? I naturally lean towre the MS books, but I have heard allot of people talking them down.

This may not be the answer you want, but here it is anyway. Which set of books is best depends on you. Since you live in an area with major bookstores, I would suggest going over there and reading a chapter in a couple different series. What appeals to one person will not necessarily appeal to another, and all the books have their pros and cons.

I have been to the stores here and there are a couple of series I like. The issue I am having is that some of these books have been accused of leading people in a direction that the test will not take.

I dont care if it is exactly the same as the test or not, but I would atleast like to take the same general direction. Allot of reviews I read are from people saying that is not the case. After reading some of the books in question (briefly) I find myself wondering if these arent just newbies that expected all the answers to be given to them.

Generally, I think the established series will do a good job of covering the material. None of them will cover everything, so I try to read from two different series when I cover a subject. This way, I am more apt to cover everything. The criticism you hear from people is probably warranted, but might be over emphasized if they did not pass the exam as a result of the missing information.