The Art of
Electronics - Horowitz and Hill -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Electronics
This book is commonly referred to as the "electronics bible."
The ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications 2012 Edition
http://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Handbook-.../dp/087259677X
While aimed toward design and prototyping radio transmitters and receivers, the first third of the book is a concise and comprehensive electronics course directly applicable to audio: What is voltage and current, Ohm's Law, what
resistors,
capacitors and
inductors are (with pictures of typical devices), reactance and AC circuits, design of transistor, tube, op-amp and digital circuits, power supplies and test equipment. The first part of this book will take you from only knowing high-school algebra to being able to pick up and run with the more advanced "The Art of Electronics."
The Amazon page for the 2011 Edition has many more reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Handbook-...ews/087259095X
The ARRL Handbook is published every year with only minor changes between each edition. The full titles of previous editions are "ARRL Handbook for Radio Amateurs" (for the last decade or so) and "ARRL Radio Amateurs Handbook" (going back for MANY decades). Even decades-old editions start with similar tutorials on basic electronics, though some components that might be mentioned (20 percent tolerance resistors, 709 op-amps) may be hard to find.
Posting Rules
