Back in the 80s I used to have some rechargeable batteries with a charger. From memory the charger was somewhere around $50 and the batteries were around $5 per battery, with 1000 charges in them.

I'd like to get some for my boys toys to save buying them endlessly, but what is the best rechargeable battery and charger these days? How many charges can you expect from a standard rechargeable battery these days before they die? I don't want to spend a fortune by the way, so if it's going to cost a lot I'll probably just leave things as they are.

Thanks in advance :)