Horoscope fish,
Now I understand where you are coming from. I make certain generalizations about folks on a photography forum like this one. First they are fairly serious about photography or are interested in becoming so. So in most cases they shoot raw, or are going to discover raw shortly. Since I am in IT and have been introducing people to software for thirty years, I am very cautious on pointing them to off brand techi solutions, or open source code, or assume they like screwing around with the software... because most of the time they don't. If they are geeks, then usually they will find the stuff on their own, or this thread would have started with, "hey, isn't there freeware or open source to do the same thing?" Most people want to balance usability and power. Additionally I would hesitate pointing simple software may not have a logical next step. Joe's question frames his skill level. He was a Corel user so is not new to photo editing software and he recognized the mainstream nature of Lightroom, so clearly the has already made an educated decision to stay with mainstream and to get the benefits. So, pointing to less powerful or difficult to learn stuff just doesn't seem helpful.
Photoshop. I have learned many dozens of programs over the years, main frame, mini computer, PC... etc. And it has got to be one of the worst I have ever seen. I used PS and Illustrator, version 3 and 4 I think for a couple years, and stopped when Lightroom came out. I'll probably get a new copy in the next year and start using it again as I am starting to want some things beyond Lightroom. Actually, you mentioned the eating an elephant. That is the problem, you have enormous chunks of learning to do the most simple thing. It does not have a logically simple interface that allows you to start with really simple things and work into more complex. You must know things like hit the control key or the Alt key to see all the options for that tool and all the terminology is very estoteric. It is like any other program, eventually you get all the hidden non-intuitive stuff and it gets easier, but the curve is really steep... Since PS was one of the first photoediting software, they built on and built on. That is what is great about Lightroom it was designed from the ground up to be made for Photographers, from acquiring new photos processing and outputting... so things like sharpening... are "Sharpening", and to darken the highlights you move the "Highlights" slider... it makes sense.
Anyway, I am not trying to be argumentative, i try and give advice that is tailored to the audience and the person that asks the question. Anyway, I think lightroom is a good choice for Joe and he probably does not need to upgrade immediately, and certainly note switch to another software. JD