It all depends on how much post processing you wish to do with/to your photos to achieve what you are happy with, as far as what software you may use.
I used to be a Photoshop user a few years back, before all this subscription nonsense, and for my art interpretations/creations that are based from photos, I am now a regular user of Affinity Photo (there's both Windows and Apple versions), which is very similar to Photoshop and is much less expensive, and cheaper than Lightroom. It is also an easier software to learn than Photoshop, with many tutorials on the net as well, and you can use Adobe plugins (8bf) and import/export PSD files. Have a browse at this post and also have a read of my thread if you're interested:
http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?149958-Affinity-Photo-new-kid-on-the-(Windows)block&highlight=Affinity
SPE - Smart Photo Editor, as Andrew (feathers) mentioned is also a good fairly simple editing program with the usual adjustment features, batching, cloning and 'cutting out' options, and more!, and has so many filters (adjustable) you can use to create a photo masterpiece or a spectacular artwork, with many options for frames/borders as well for a one off price (half price special at the mo) of $29.95! I use this software a fair bit too, and highly recommend it.
Another basic, but worthy software is FastStone Image Viewer and is FREEWARE!, so no cost involved!
This has been mentioned in other AP posts as well.
This program is an
image browser, converter and editor that supports all major graphic formats including BMP, JPEG, JPEG 2000, GIF, PNG, PCX, TIFF, WMF, ICO, TGA and camera raw files. It has a nice array of features such as image viewing, management, comparisons, red-eye removal, emailing/sharing, resizing, cropping, colour adjustments, musical slideshow and even more!
Of course there is GIMP - a FREE worthy Photo Editor and Graphic program as well!, and probably more out there too!
Question now is, do we really need ADOBE?