I use a belt sander currently. Sharp enough to push cut newspaper and "pop" hairs going from a totally dull edge to that in about 5 or 6 mins(alot of that time is belt changes, if you do 3 or 4 knives, it only takes a couple minutes more). I myself haven't had good luck with those chef choice type sharpeners, knife couldn't cut paper once I used it. But the sharpmaker is a really nice choice for a beginner, alot less of a learning curve. All you have to do is keep the knives perpendicular to the base, pretty easy peazy. Another choice for a belt sander is the worksharp knife and tool sharpener. It's mini belt sander, and it has a set of guides that you place your knife into, like a pull through sharpener or chefsmate. It has a set of thinner angle guides, and thicker; but you can just remove the guide once you get good.
The sharpmaker is 50something bucks, belt sander with belts would cost maybe 50-60, and the worksharp is basically a dummyproof belt sander. Cost around 70 bucks on amazon. It's a little more expensive, but it's really fast like a regular belt sander(versus taking at least 20-30 minutes with the sharpmaker). Here's a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rmC5GNbeYxM
Try not to look at too many sharpening videos on youtube, 95% of them are full of crap. Look at forums like bladeforums or knifeforums keeping sharp section. Murray carter has good technique too, try looking at his videos(he's a professional knifemaker)
I wouldn't recommend the pocket pal for razor sharpness. My brother bought one, and it just removes a ton of metal(you can literally see shavings coming off) and the edge would cut paper roughly.
