Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have completed all of the three main levels of Pimsleur Spanish as well as Pimsleur Spanish plus. I have been studying Spanish on my own since early 2002. I would consider myself somewhat proficient but far from fluent. I am going to attempt to compare Pimsluer Spanish with some of the other courses that I have used and that are available here on Amazon. Compared to Rosetta stone, I would consider Pimsleur a lot more fun. Rosetta Stone was a rather tedious course. And the more fun a course is, the more that you will study with the course. The advantage that Rosetta Stone Spanish has over Pimsleur is that you will learn more vocabulary. Also if you are a visual learner you will make progress quicker with Rosetta Stone because Pimsluer Spanish is all audio. Pimsluer Spanish is also a lot more "convenient" than Rosetta Stone because Pimsleur Spanish can be used in your car or even your ipod. However, Rosetta Stone Spanish requires you to sit in front of a computer. In any case, Rosetta Stone makes an excellent compliment to Pimsleur Spanish or Learning Spanish Like Crazy. Compared to Learning Spanish Like Crazy, I would consider Pimsleur easier to master. I was able to complete the Pimsleur materials by going through them just once or twice. On the other hand, I had to go through the Learning Spanish Like Crazy materials as many as five times before I felt comfortable enough with the material to move on to the next lesson. Arguably, that's because LSLC covers more vocabulary and grammar than Pimsluer Spanish. Clearly, one advantage that Learning Spanish Like crazy has over Pimsleur Spanish is that it offers much more vocabulary. The vocabulary in Pimsleur was also a bit archaic and just too formal. On the other hand, the LSLC spanish course puts a greater emphasis on everyday spoken Latin American Spanish. The major disadvantage with LSLC is that the company is new and has only completed one level while Pimsleur Spanish has at least 3 levels. According to the LSLC web site, they are still working on Level 2. The last time that I had checked the LSLC web site was only offering the CD version of the course with a package of several other FSI Spanish courses. But you can get the LSLC CD course here at Amazon.com with out the extra FSI courses for substantially less money. In all fairness, I don't think that I should attempt to compare Michel Thomas Spanish to Pimsleur Spanish. Michel Thomas Spanish is a great Spanish course for someone looking to learn just enough Spanish to get by. But it is not a comprehensive Spanish course and I am sure that Michel Thomas did not intend for it to be a comprehensive Spanish course. But if you are on a budget or if you just want a crash course in Spanish (and have no desire to ever be completely fluent) then I would strongly recommend Michel Thomas Spanish. He uses a very natural learning method that is similiar to the way we learned to speak English as a child. So out of the comprehensive courses which one do I recommend that you buy? Actually all of them. Of course not all at once. Unless you are naturally gifted at learning foreign languages, its just not realistic to think that you will achieve proficiency in Spanish after going through just one Spanish course or series of Spanish courses. It takes years of effort and study (or relocation to a Spanish-speaking country). Unfortunately, I have not found a course that will give us a shortcut.