Much like with any purchase, it depends on how important noise-cancellation is for you. For most people, when wearing headphones, you want to be able to hear what you're listening to and not be distracted by environmental sounds.
While turning up the volume may help a little, a true pair of noise-cancelling headphones are able to filter out unwanted sounds more effectively without reducing the quality of the music or podcast you're listening to.
You'll be surprised how soon you become accustomed to noise-cancellation headphones and enjoying the relative silence away from the world.