Yes, I believe it is worth it. I don't think a front loader will ever be accepted in this house, and the new top loaders (other than the current model of Speed Queen) all seem to be of the "energy star/eco friendly" machines that in my opinion, just don't cut the mustard. Further, they are all digital, and as in the case of this GE, you have no choice during the cycle of the load to make it do what you want it to do.
For instance, if I wanted a "1st" rinse with spray, I would simply reset the timer to six minutes of wash on the Amana. Then, when the "real" rinse came up, it was actually a second rinse and I could then use softener at that point. The GE has a super rinse option, and says it won't dispense softener from the agitator mounted dispenser until that rinse. Well, it does...I guess they think nobody would think to put a magnet on the safty switch and see that it mearly dumps softener without a tub fill for it to do any good.
To change "mid-stream" on the GE, well....you can't. It starts all over again, and if there is any water in the tub, it drains that, and starts a new cycle. Additionally, like I said above, it either doesn't circulate clothes like a "tumble" action from top to bottom and ties sheets into knots. Admittedly, that would ON OCCASION happen in the Amana, but rarely. I put a magnet on the GE to observe the operation and it just doesn't move clothes around like I think it should for a clean wash.