Editting Programs.

What is everyone thoughts and opinions on editing programs. 
I have been playing around a little bit with the LightRoom program. It's been years since I've used photoshop (high school). 

Just wanted to see what everyone else's insight was

I used to be a heavy pro user but now I am Adobe free from
the introduction of CC and the subscription model.

When I decided to quit the CS6 MasterSuite, in the days, there
were no immediate quality substitute available but a RAW con-
verter from Denmark (then CO v.6) instead of Lr and this was a
glorious decision. Some years later, it is v. 13.

I was then betting that Adobe's new plan would motivate deve-
lopers to produce a pixel editor to replace Ps in my workflow and
I was right: a British co. named Serif came up with the new and
brilliant Affinity suite — and what a relief it was.

Lighter, faster, with newer architecture and more capable to evo-
ve and waaaay faster — not to mentioned much cheaper as well.

The power of these new tools is convincing me and my students.

Lightroom has nothing to do with PS. (Aside from the fact that Adobe makes both of them.)

Lightroom is a digital asset management (DAM) system that includes a non-destructive editor. It is unequalled as a DAM.

Some folks like to use Bridge and Photoshop for their editing. I think there are easier tools available now.

There are other programs that provide various function: Capture One, Affinity (both mentioned above), Luminar, On1RAW, Paint Shop Plus, ACDSee, Photo Mechanic, etc. Most offer trial periods.

Suggest you purpose to test drive one program at a time, to get a feel for what it can do for you. I believe you'll find that at least one of them will make sense and be a good fit.

N.B. The subscription model for LR + PS (It's not just LR) is less than the cost of lunch out once a month. You get a lot for that. But it doesn't help if you don't like the program. Go experiment.

Same to same. I am using Adobe Photoshop CC latest version for my editing work. 

I switched from PS to LR many years ago.  I'm not a fan of subscription schemes, so I gave up Adobe when they went off to their Cloud.  At that time I ended up with ACDSee, and have been using ACDSee for several years now.  ACDSee is a solid workbench, can handle 95% of what most folks need.  But getting a little long in the tooth now (like the Adobe stuff).

As Gary already noted, there are (suddenly) lots of different editors to consider, some free!  So I have been experimenting with Affinity, ART (fork of RawTherapee), Darktable, and Luminar3.  A few quick notes on each -

The Affinity people have been around a long time, with roots in the old Corel brand.  Thus their product is pretty mature, compared to Luminar, etc.  Affinity tries very hard to complete with PS, not so much LR.  Affinity does have a Develop section to import RAW files, but insists on saving any adjustments in their proprietary format, AFPHOTO, which is not RAW.  Affinity does have a good section for tone mapping and HDR work, but otherwise its tools are traditional.  Arguably a better workbench for a graphic artist than a pure photographer (also true of PS).  I have tried to like Affinity, but it is resisting.

ART is a brand new kid on the block, came out in 2020.  It's really an abbreviated version of the occult RawTherapee.  As a niche product (freebie download) there is hardly any support for it, compared to the heavy hitters like Adobe and Affinity.  Still I enjoy it a lot as a change of pace from the old paradigms.

Darktable is open source, like ART, but has been around a lot longer.  Has a reputation as a mad scientists laboratory, complete with maze of mystery tools.  The ultimate attack plan for any really difficult images, including anything RAW.  I'm not sure anybody has ever mastered Darktable, it's that deep.  Lately they have put in some effort to make the overall UI and basic tools more accessible to mere mortals.  I find it especially good for tone mapping and B&W work.  Darktable is now my go-to for any "hopeless" images.  But my past does include mad scientist.

Luminar is the wild child, keeps re-inventing itself.  Which has not resulted in a reputation for stability.  I went with Luminar 3 in 2019.  At first it was buggy.  They did issue a final version before moving on to Luminar 4.  This version did fix the bugs, my L3 is now just as stable as anything else.  But this is a pattern for Luminar.  Get some people mad at them with the initial release, hopefully fix it all later.  Luminar has more innovative tools than anybody, which I do enjoy.  But I cannot suggest it as a one-and-only editor to anybody.

It would be fun to try Capture One, DxO, ON1, etc, but those are well beyond my modest budget.  Besides, I already have more than my hands full with ACDSee, Affinity, ART, Darktable, and Luminar3!

Kelly Cook