www.breadworld.com - this is Fleischman's yeast web site and I've gotten some good ideas, recipes, etc. there. They have a bread machine cookbook for about $5 - that you can order. I like it - in that it is not just for 1 maker's machine. And it has lots of good tips. I have lots of other bread machine cookbooks - and I get manyout of the library, etc. Usually find 1 or 2 recipes I want in each.
However, I feel a bread machine is like a microwave oven. If I have brand a and you have brand b .... it may cook/bake just a bit differently in yours than in mine. And terminology may be different, etc.

Keep trying .... you'll find one you really like soon.

Oh, one comment - re the bread coming too high in your machine. Perhaps you were trying to bake a 2 lb loaf in a 1-1/2 pound machine? For a 2 lb loaf it is usually about 3 cups flour. My machine bakes 1 or 1-1/2 lbs ... and on occasion I do a 1 lb recipe .... and it looks lost in the machine ..... but bakes well. Some recipes are not meant to come as high, etc.

Also you might want to try the village bakery - http://www.counrylife.net/.bread/ - they have several sections - a recipe bin that has recipes (in no particular order - you do a lot of scrolling); a question/answer spot; also a bread formum where many comments, questions, etc. are bandied around and some are answered. Plus sourdough and so on. I've gotten a lot of good tips there .... and a few I won't try. But I do like the site. It s not just bread machine ... but you can usually find what you're looking for.