What's the best way to become a good cook?

I would say just cook more. Take some recipes and try modifying them with different flavors. Read some cook books.

Cook a lot.

Follow recipes exactly the first time you make something, then modify it the next time.

Read,watch and cook.

If you love something you will be good at it.

I would highly recommend anyone that wants to be a good cook buy this book. I have read it cover to cover many times and it has pride of place right next to my stove. Literally anything you want to make will be explained in detail. I learned how to butcher from this book as well as many other things.

Followed by this one when you feel the need to start experimenting and creating your own recipes.

The best way is doing it. Start off with some things that you like to eat and are familiar with because you know what the result should be.

Watch some cooking shows. You'll learn a lot from those. I still learn tips from those. Learned one the other day. Problem is I can't for the life of me remember what it was! Hopefully, I'll remember when the situation presents itself.

If you're going to start buying cookbooks, start with the basics. Joy of cooking is out in paperback and answers some pretty basic questions. You don't have to necessarily use the recipes, but you'll get the methods and preps down.

As you cook more, you get the feel for things and you'll be on your way.

One more thing...good food doesn't have to be complicated or have a bazillion ingredients. Many times, less is more.

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Get a good Chef's knife
Get some decent pots and pans.
To get these go to a restaurant supply wholesale place. No need to buy the name brands at retail.
Use sea or Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Get some basic cook books. Don't be scared to fail. From failure comes success.

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All of this.

EDIT: I fixed the links below. Sorry about that.

First, read this list of basic cooking techniques basic cooking techniques.

Then, learn the five mother sauces five mother sauces.

Buy James Petersen's Essentials of Cooking James Peterson's Essentials of Cooking.

Cook a lot. A whole lot. Doesn't matter what it is just cook. Pay attention to every detail before, during, and after; the smell, the feel, the look, the taste, the texture.

There is so much expert information on the Internet about cooking that anyone can gain a lot of culinary knowledge very, very quickly. Hit the message boards like Chef Talk and Chowhounds.

Learn to cook one or two things correctly using one method, then add more items. Since you like to grill, start with grilled pork tenderloin, for example, and master it. Later, move on to fish or chicken or whatever you like but master it first. Once you do, you can spot similarities and differences in other proteins that will guide you to good results quickly (grill temp, cook time, etc.). Next, move on to another cooking technique. If you are only going to learn two, grilling and braising are essesntial to football fans in Louisiana.

Next, do the same thing with vegetables, starches, and breads. Master something, then progress. Things will come together very quickly for you that way. One thing became apparent to me in short order; there are but a few techniques. Learn them and learn a few flavor combinations and the mystery of cooking goes away.

Good luck.

yeah, none of those links work...

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yeah, none of those links work...

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He did it backwards. The website address is what is showing and the link is the description.

Learn to roast a perfect chicken and serve with a pan juice.

You get this down, you can cook anything. It empowers you.