I want to study actual games: is chessgames.com worth the money?

$29 per year seems a bit pricey to use their openings explorer. I am finding myself in want of games to study... I'm starting to learn a few openings, but want to see the games that arise from them.

I see that there are "databases" for sale as well, which I assume you can load into a program like Fritz (?) and I'm wondering if these are better value for money? Does anyone have experience with these options, or suggestions?

Or should I just buy books (I have, for example, a gorgeous book called "My great predecessors" by Kasparov...) and look up games that way? It's nice to have an electronic copy, with buttons to move the pieces around, rather than needing a physical board, (or a brain that visualizes better than mine currently does).

Thanks for the input.

M.