Yes google 'check backlinks' or something similar... there are a bunch of different ones, and it seems that some don't show all the links or maybe just take a while to get updated. SEOQuake is a good program/addon for a browser if your doing this type of stuff regularly. Spending some budget on high traffic sites related to your industry is a good choice for inbound link building. I've done it with several sites, you'll often find some older sites that come up good in sites that don't charge an arm and a leg for linking.
You can use any free seo software, usually they have it, or you can use yahoo to find out how much backlinks you have
Here's the quickest online tool I have found. It's pretty detailed too! online-utility.org/webmaster/backlink_domain_analyzer.jsp I don't have live link capability yet
I can also recommend the yahoo site explorer as it is free. But if you have a lot of sites it is better to buy some seo software.