Responding to the original poster's question about Lightroom's popularity:
Yes, Lightroom is popular. For processing, some people prefer other software instead of or in addition to Lightroom. (Lightroom is both a cataloguing program and a processing program.)
Also, Lightroom (and Photoshop) can be "rented" on a monthly basis, or Lightroom can be purchased.
Lightroom has a significant learning curve. I bought the book "Adobe Lightroom 4 — The Missing FAQ" by Victoria Bampton, who has a website at
The Lightroom Queen ? Tips, Tutorials & Troubleshooting for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Perhaps your public library has a good, current book on Lightroom. Also, some tutorials are available online .
The Nik Collection is, in my humble opinion, an excellent suite of processing programs and recently has been offered free of charge. That offer comes from Google, the owner. (Nik should not be confused with Nikon.)
I also use an older version of Photoshop Elements (instead of Photoshop).
At some point, you might want to explore additional software, such as some of the programs from Topaz. I also occasionally use Smart Photo Editor.
Best wishes,
Stu