As I see it, you basically have two options:
I use VueScan myself, simply because I don’t like the license model of SilverFast (or their website). SilverFast looks relatively slick, although it doesn’t rock my boat, VueScan looks (and feels) very not slick.
Scanning is not fun. It’s a tedious process and it’ll probably take you a while to get the hang of it. Start out with a dust free environment. Dust is your worst enemy. Stay away from Digital ICE and other automatic enhancements and corrections. For VueScan, take a look at these excellent tutorials and build your workflow from there:
I sometimes do a little touch up in Lightroom or CS, especially to get rid of those bloody dusties.
There are also hybrid workflows possible with positive plug-ins for Photoshop. Working with a humble flatbed scanner and trying to keep it simple, this is as far as I go. Examples here.