Asks the diamond member with no completed ChessMentor lessons...
OK, my bad; you've only been here 6 days, but seriously, check out the CM lessons. You already have access to these, but chess.com designed them for beginners to get a good solid foundation and there are two levels in this series beyond the freebies.
https://www.chess.com/blog/webmaster/free-chess-mentor-courses
And if you really want basic tactics, GM Wollf has a dozen or so courses on the major tactical motifs. Like so:
https://www.chess.com/chessmentor/view_course?id=273
And of course as you pointed out, there are a near infinite number of ways to get better, including the very well respected Step Method. Good luck!
I am becoming overwhelmed with all of the options for learning to play chess. I would like a program that I can stick to and feel like I am improving. Ideally I would like it to be software based but it seems like OSX and chess are not the best of friends.
Is the Step Method okay for self study? If I went this route would I just buy the workbooks or do I need the manuals as well?
I would like to get a firm understanding of openings and basic tactics.