Thanks for both references. It's been a while since I studied algebra in college and I'm hoping to get back into it and solidify my understanding. What do you think of Artin's Algebra? http://www.amazon.com/Algebra-2nd-Michael-Artin/dp/013241377...
Then when going through these refer back to Artin if there is something you do not understand or want to see the Algebra from a different perspective.
It is often hard to motivate Alegbra without having seen it occur naturally elsewhere. All this being Artin is a great book. Good luck.
If you are comparing it to Pinter or burns - Artin is a lot harder.