Seems like openings are important

Thank you. What is your background?

"... For players with very limited experience, I recommend using openings in which the play can be clarified at an early stage, often with a degree of simplification. To accomplish this safely will take a little study, because you will have to get used to playing wiith open lines for both sides' pieces, but you can't eliminate risk entirely in the opening anyway. ... teachers all over the world suggest that inexperienced players begin with 1 e4. ... You will undoubtedly see the reply 1 ... e5 most often when playing at or near a beginner's level, ... After 2 Nf3, 2 ... Nc6 will occur in the bulk of your games. ... I recommend taking up the classical and instructive move 3 Bc4 at an early stage. Then, against 3 ... Bc5, it's thematic to try to establish the ideal centre by 4 c3 and 5 d4; after that, things can get complicated enough that you need to take a look at some theory and learn the basics; ... Of course, you can also play 1 d4 ... A solid and more-or-less universal set-up is 2 Nf3 and 3 Bf4, followed in most cases by 4 e3, 5 Be2 and 6 0-0. I'd rather see my students fight their way through open positions instead; however, if you're not getting out of the opening alive after 1 e4, this method of playing 1 d4 deserves consideration. ... a commonly suggested 'easy' repertoire for White with 1 Nf3 and the King's indian Attack ... doesn't lead to an open game or one with a clear plan for White. Furthermore, it encourages mechanical play. Similarly, teachers sometimes recommend the Colle System ..., which can also be played too automatically, and usually doesn't lead to an open position. For true beginners, the King's Indian Attack and Colle System have the benefit of offering a safe position that nearly guarantees passage to some kind of playable middlegame; they may be a reasonable alternative if other openings are too intimidating. But having gained even a small amount of experience, you really should switch to more open and less automatic play. ..." - IM John Watson in a section of his 2010 book, Mastering the Chess Openings, Volume 4

"... As Black, I think that [players with very limited experience] would do well … playing 1...e5 versus 1 e4 and 1...d5 versus 1 d4. … [After 1 d4 d5, if] White plays the most important move, 2 c4, inexperienced players might want to begin classically with 2...e6 followed by ...Nf6 and ...Be7 …" - IM John Watson (2010)

Perhaps it would be a good idea to start with Discovering Chess Openings, a book about opening principles.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf

Here are some books that set out to help the reader to choose specific openings:

Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/

https://www.chess.com/blog/ForwardChess/book-of-the-week-openings-for-amateurs
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf

First Steps: 1 e4 e5
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7790.pdf

https://chesscafe.com/book-reviews/first-steps-1-e4-e5-by-john-emms/

First Steps: Queen's Gambit

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7652.pdf

My First Chess Opening Repertoire for White
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9033.pdf
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/vincent-moret/
Opening Repertoire 1 e4
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7819.pdf

Yasser Seirawan's Winning Chess Openings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf

Be sure to try to use the openings in games in between sessions of learning. Most of the time, one faces a position with no knowledge of a specific move indicated in a book. One has to accept that as part of chess, and think of opening knowledge as a sometimes helpful aid. After a game, it makes sense to try to look up the moves in a book and see if it has some indication of how one might have played better in the opening. Many opening books are part explanation and part reference material. The reference material is included in the text with the idea that one mostly skips it on a first reading, and looks at an individual item when it applies to a game that one has just played. Resist the temptation to try to turn a book into a mass memorization project. There are many important subjects that one should not neglect because of too much time on opening study.
https://www.chess.com/article/view/learning-an-opening-to-memorize-or-understand
"... Overall, I would advise most players to stick to a fairly limited range of openings, and not to worry about learning too much by heart. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
"... I feel that the main reasons to buy an opening book are to give a good overview of the opening, and to explain general plans and ideas. ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... If the book contains illustrative games, it is worth playing these over first ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... the average player only needs to know a limited amount about the openings he plays. Providing he understands the main aims of the opening, a few typical plans and a handful of basic variations, that is enough. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
"... Everyman Chess has started a new series aimed at those who want to understand the basics of an opening, i.e., the not-yet-so-strong players. ... I imagine [there] will be a long series based on the premise of bringing the basic ideas of an opening to the reader through plenty of introductory text, game annotations, hints, plans and much more. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627055734/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen38.pdf
"The way I suggest you study this book is to play through the main games once, relatively quickly, and then start playing the variation in actual games. Playing an opening in real games is of vital importance - without this kind of live practice it is impossible to get a 'feel' for the kind of game it leads to. There is time enough later for involvement with the details, after playing your games it is good to look up the line." - GM Nigel Davies (2005)
"... Review each of your games, identifying opening (and other) mistakes with the goal of not repeatedly making the same mistake. ... It is especially critical not to continually fall into opening traps – or even lines that result in difficult positions ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627062646/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman81.pdf

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

openings are crucial they should be accorded the same effort as the other phases of the game , i like how Tal opens , generally in a classical manner to get his pieces developed quickly ready for the fireworks that often light up his games

watch his games ghost and judge for yourself , i notice how he goes for classical openings alot to get good development before he sacrifices a piece to spice things up , you can tell how he has studied his openings , perhaps im wrong but go look at his games and judge for yourself 

"... I feel that the main reasons to buy an opening book are to give a good overview of the opening, and to explain general plans and ideas. ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... If the book contains illustrative games, it is worth playing these over first ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... Everyman Chess has started a new series aimed at those who want to understand the basics of an opening, i.e., the not-yet-so-strong players. ... I imagine [there] will be a long series based on the premise of bringing the basic ideas of an opening to the reader through plenty of introductory text, game annotations, hints, plans and much more. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627055734/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen38.pdf

A quote from that 1974 book: "... It is difficult to apply the right principle in the heat of battle, especially when it conflicts with another principle. When is a violation of principle acceptable and when is it not? We acquire positional judgment by studying master games. …"

Many 21st century opening books are largely collections of games, explained for the near-beginner.

"... MOST PLAYED OPENINGS

With the White pieces: Sicilian ... Ruy Lopez ... Caro-Kann ... French Defense ... English ...

With the Black pieces: Sicilian ... King's Indian ... Modern Benoni ... Nimzo Indian ... English ... Queen's Pawn Game ..."

https://www.chessgames.com/player/mikhail_tal.html

"... It is to be hoped that my discussion provides a direction; I urge the reader to do his own analysis in the development of an opening repertoire." - GM Lajos Portisch (1974)

Listening to the chatter, it occurred to me that this is similar to drawing a gun and breaking the first shot. 

It is a VERY complicated bio-mechanical process that leaves nothing to error if you want to get a sub-second hit on the target.  And so you break down and drill every small element of the draw, isolating each part of it.  Then you bring it back together and slowly build up speed until it all becomes a seamless continuum of energy towards breaking the shot.

At first, everything matters.  At the end of the process, it's a fluid motion.

So if I was to study, would it be better to study something like this:

https://www.chessable.com/smithys-opening-fundamentals/course/21302/

Or this:

https://www.chessable.com/lifetime-repertoires-jan-gustafssons-1-e4-e5/course/28860/#positions

now thats a lovely shelf of books,and in such good condition too , my tal books are dog eared and have no covers but i love them still  

heres a very good example of Tals classical approach to an opening 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HciyEJTHPs

Of course, if one already knows the fundamentals, it might not be necessary to read about them again. In any event, one can proceed from principles to a specific opening discussion although the results may depend considerably on the level of explanation that is provided.

Beginner Chess (upto 1200) =

15% opening + 40% speed + 40% tactics + 2% endgame + 3% strategy.

Intermediate Chess (1200 - 1800)  =

30% opening + 30% speed + 30% tactics + 5% endgame + 5% strategy.

Advanced Chess (1800 - 2400) =

30% opening + 25% speed + 25% tactics + 10% endgame + 10% strategy.

Professional Chess (2400+) =

30% opening + 15% speed + 15% tactics + 20% endgame + 20% strategy.

Note: Speed means executing moves without blunders (dropping material).

Beginners should concentrate on opening traps & tactics. 

"... for those that want to be as good as they can be, they'll have to work hard.
Play opponents who are better than you … . Learn basic endgames. Create a simple opening repertoire (understanding the moves are far more important than memorizing them). Study tactics. And pick up tons of patterns. That’s the drumbeat of success. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (December 27, 2018)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/little-things-that-help-your-game