Read everything you can get your hands on, use as little effects as you can stand, and record, record, record. There is no substitute for hands on experience. Figure out what kind of sound you want, and figure out how to do it on your budget.
Don't just do one recording of a song, finish it up, listen objectivly, and then, do that song all over again.
Learn from everything you do, write stuff down, good and bad. When something really works well, figure out why it worked, when something really sucks, figure out why as well.
Keep your levels as hot as you can without overloading, and always remember to have fun, and try as hard as possible to sound like yourself, not anyone else. Because if all you wanted to do was sound like someone else, why bother, you can already buy their stuff.