I am still using article directories and they are providing pretty good value but like the old days I am not submitting the same article on dozens of article directories. I am now submitting a different article on each site and I am now using only of them. Here are the article directories I am using at the moment. ezinearticles articlesfactory sooperarticles articlesbase abilogic selfgrowth
All these article directories have pretty good DA so getting backlinks from these websites with unique/original content should be helpful
yes, article submission is still considered by some SEO guys a good practice, while few others directly cut the thread with article submission type backlink, to get the hits. It depends, what works for whom? someone still finds this type of backlink useful, while some call it rubbish. SEO executives are not streamlined considering the article submission type backlink these days. You must try out yourself if it works for you. Regards!
If the article directory has good domain authority or ranking than can put an article to receive a good backlink. Most article sites have duplicate content. If you want to place an article you need to be research before submission.