DVD drive on my computer started getting hung up & won't open half the time.

[<(o_o)>]

Any solutions on fixing this problem? It still reads & writes discs so far so it isn't completely burnt out but still this little problem can be a bit frustrating. In the event that I should have to replace the drive which is the best & least expensive drive with the most features to get? Is it best to replace the internal dvd drive or would an external dvd drive be just as good?