Well, College Algebra will be different, since it should really contain Trig as well as Pre-calc.
If I am correct, DS did not touch at all on Logs or Binomials while going through Algebra 1 at school. And I am sure Rusczyk has you working on them in this book.
AoPS books are just different. You really should get your hands on one before investing the money - too bad we are not closer in distance, I have like 4 or 5 of them at home already :-)
My suggestion Dottie would be to forgo the Algebra text completely and look instead into the Art of Problem Solving - volume 1 - the Basics.
I am sure that I have already pointed out the Calculus Trap article :-) I again stress that point of view. This is coming from a mother whose child took Algebra as a 10 year old fifth grader.
