Best Annotated Games Collection for Noobs?

What are good annotated games collections for a dumb-dumb?

For context:

I've read Logical Chess: Move By Move and I felt it was the right level of difficulty for me. Chernev is clearly talking to beginners, not to fellow experts and masters.

I read part of a First Book of Morphy, but I felt the annotations were a little sparse and handwavy. I kind of gave up on it.

I went through the first game of Zurich International Tournament, 1953 and decided it was way too difficult for me. Maybe some day, probably not.

I've gone through the first few games of Nunn's Understanding Chess Move by move, and while the annotations are excellent, he goes through a lot of stuff that is kind of beyond me. I might get what he is saying, but no way on earth I would apply it in a game. Probably a waste of time.

That being said, what collection should this patzer noob look into next? It doesn't need to be a book. YouTube channel is fine, internet resources is fine too... But if a book is the best resource, then so be it.

I quite like A First Book Of Morphy, although I guess I'm mostly just looking at the games rather than leaning too heavily on the annotations.

I haven't read it, but I've heard Neil Macdonald's Chess: the Art of Logical Thinking recommended as a higher-quality modern alternative to Chernev.

Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
"... Irving Chernev’s The Most Instructive Games of Chess Every Played was ... originally published ... in 1965. It contains sixty-two well analyzed games, each one possessing both artistic and educational value. ..."
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
"... Giddins has admirably achieved his aim of providing an update to Most Instructive Games, and while 50 Essential Chess Lessons might reasonably be viewed as a successor to Chernev's earlier book, it also stands on its own as a well-crafted, thoughtful, and original work. ..."
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708100833/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/review534.pdf
https://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/50_Essential_Chess_Lessons.pdf

I would second Neil McDonald's "Chess: The Art of Logical Thinking: From the First Move to the Last". Like Chernev it has complete games, but they're more recent, and he leaves nothing out; for example, he makes different comments about 1. e4 every time, which might be overkill, but gives you different ways to think about even the most basic things.

If you liked Chernev, he has another book called "Capablanca's Best Chess Endings" which has 60 complete games. It's not quite as basic as "Logical Chess" or McDonald's book, but fairly easy to follow, and Capablanca's games are good for beginners because you see great fundamentals and harmony of piece placement, and he is often able to carry out his plans against weaker opponents. It also has the benefit that the games were chosen for the endings, which are great for teaching the power of individual pieces, but you get to see the complete game and get a sense of how the endgame arises from the middlegame.

There's nothing quite like reading annotations by the person who actually played the game, however, so that you get insight into the way that strong players think in the moment, and probably one of the best choices for beginners is Alekhine's best games collection. He's not aiming it at beginners, but the notes are fuller and easier to follow than most other grandmaster collections, and like Capablanca's games, you get to see him carry out his plans very often. His chess is electric. It's one of my favorite chess books.

aren't most books with beginner as intended audience (well maybe adult beginners?), all relying on a presentation following annotated games?

I would expect the annotation level to be curated with the book pedagogical objectives, if that was part of the book authorship effort, which is very likely. I welcome contradiction with information.

Theoretically, lots of old chess books should now be out of copyright, so you might be able to find lots of said pdf's on the web ...

I second 'Capa's best endings'--- it is a great book. I'll recommend 2 others: 'Best lessons of a chess coach' and 'Russian Chess' by Pandolfini.