I am really surprised at the dearth of documentation on Search options/modules on Drupal.org. So I am compiling a running list of different sites that have actual details on what you can do with Search and how best to achieve them.
https://drupal.org/node/343467 – Probably the best place for docs on Solr and Drupal, and all the mods that go with them.
http://envisioninteractive.com/drupal/drupal-7-views-with-faceted-filters-without-apachesolr/ – Great one for those who want to use the out-of-the-box search_db backend.
http://www.acquia.com/blog/simple-guide-install-apache-solr-3x-drupal-7 – One for Solr – which I believe I am going to end up using.
http://www.lullabot.com/blog/article/installing-solr-use-drupal – Installing Solr. GREAT TUTORIAL from LULLABOT
http://xmodulo.com/2013/02/how-to-install-apache-tomcat-on-centos.html – installing apache tomcat for Solr on Centos
http://www.mkyong.com/tomcat/how-to-check-tomcat-version-installed/ – Tomcat version
http://quark.humbug.org.au/publications/notes/bofh/msg00027.html – tomcat authentication
http://wiki.apache.org/solr/SolrTomcat – troubleshooting Solr
http://zugec.com/73-how-setup-search-api-apache-solr – installing solr and drupal info
landie.tech 