Best editing software for RAW and editing.

[ArtFreak]

I am trying to decide which photoediting software to buy and I'm having trouble finding clear descriptions of what each one does or how exactly they differ from each other. For example, Adobe photoshop vs. Lightroom vs. Photoshop elements. I am shooting JPEG right now, but I would really like to move up to RAW soon. I am also interested in the artistic abilities of the program. I absolutely love Fiddle Oak's miniature pictures which are done through layering photos and then adjusting the colors. Basically those are my two requirements, the ability to process RAW files and to have some artistic freedom with them. But I don't need all of the stickers and whatnot that I've seen in some free programs like Picassa.
You guys were so helpful when I was picking out my D7000 I just had to come back and pick your brains again.

 

[KmH]

Elements is Adobe's consumer grade editing application and can perform many of the tasks graphic artists need to do.
Elements is pretty much limited to doing 8-bit depth edits. Bit Depth
Elements includes the consumer grade version of Adobe's Raw converter - Adobe Camera Raw (ACR)- and an image organizer.

ACR can be used to edit Raw, TIFF and JPEG photographs.

Lightroom is a professional grade photograph database management application, and Lighroom's Develop module is the professional version of ACR.
Lightroom's Library module is it's image database management module.
Lightroom is designed just for photographers, so Lightroom lacks most of the graphic arts tools, features and functions Elements and Photoshop CC have.
Lightroom by itself cannot do layers and Lightroom lacks precision selection and masking tools.
Lightroom was developed to be a front end processor for the professional grade of Photoshop.

Photoshop CC is the professional image editing industry standard. CC also has the professional grade of ACR. ACR was developed for and included in Photoshop several years before Lightroom hit the market.
When Adobe created Photoshop CC they merged both Photoshop and Photoshop Extended into a single unit.

It's not current but will still be useful - Adobe Photoshop family - Comparison guide