I'm bias due to my profession, and regularly get attacked for this point on the Internet by people who think they know better, but glasses.
My eyes aren't even bad, but when I wear them, holy shit is there a difference between the high tech new stuff and basic lenses.
Anyone that tells you online glasses are just as good has never had a 600$ pair from a real (not chain) optical. Anyone who says they have got ripped off by Pearl vision or LensCrafters.
Absolutely. In addition to the lenses, I've had the cheapo online ones and they're simply not as comfortable as high end glasses. I wear these things all the time, every day. I'm not skimping.