I went through two of that style of faucet, where the whole thing moves, and had the same problem of them becoming hard to move.

Then I was at Costco one day and spotted this faucet.

The flow rate is a little less than I would like and the spray pattern takes some getting used to, but the base doesn't turn, only the top portion does, and the extra height comes in handy, and I think it looks pretty cool. I've had it over a year and don't regret it at all.

So, if you're taking yours out to clean it, give some consideration to replacing it with one that doesn't suck.