IMO....mistake taking anything to Brakes Plus.

Notorious for selling shit that you don't need done.

Fact though, is that you can have ball joint issues without "noticing" a drivability problem. Also, getting an alignment if you really do have bad ball joints, is a waste of money.

If you jack up one side of your car with the weight on the control arm itself, grasp both the top and bottom side of the mounted wheel/tire, and try to "wiggle" the wheel. (hands at the 12 and 6 o'clock position) if you feel any slop there, you have an issue with ball joints, or maybe some wheel bearing issue. Have someone else do the wiggling while you use a flashlight to eyeball the ball joints yourself.

Tire lugs can wear funny for different reasons, and ball joints are only one reason. If the outsides are wearing, it might be toed in. Aggressive cornering can do some weird stuff to the outside lugs too.

Hope some of this helps ya.