Yes, you can still use them (it sometimes helps to be drawn to a particular deck, however it's not essential).
When people say you need to 'connect' with the deck, it just means you understand the message of the image/card and the underlying layers (which comes through practice).
You can find decent free learning resources online to guide you through the basics of reading tarot and get you started.
I can't answer for angel cards as I don't use them.