what is the safe method of flashing a rom? Installing CWM from update.zip of flashing a rom using CWM flashed through ODIN?
Oh boy, you have opened a never ending discussion now!
After you have done flashing for a while, the answer will be "whatever way you like best." For a very first timer, I would suggest the AIO tool at
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=944418
Personally, I am generally upgrading within a single ROM and I like to move it onto the sdcard and use CWM red recovery (3-button entry or from 'boot to recovery' in power-down menu now on my phone) and flash ROM from that, using the 'install zip from sdcard' option, or however it is worded.
Still looking for an answer to
"Is there any site or thread that has all/most CWMs in update.zip form, shows their versions, and describes them?"