My suggestion will always be the "no-compromise" app, or more accurately bundle. This would be Photoshop/Lightroom. My second choice would be DXO Photolab/Nik bundle. My last choice would be On1 RAW which is bundled with Effects, et al. The least desirable is On1 - it shows great promise and they are working overtime to steal some market share from Adobe, but even after 6 versions of migrating to their raw converter it still suffers from "NRFPT" syndrome (not ready fro prime time) - it crashes, some things take way too long to accomplish, etc. DXO PHotolab is pretty mature and Nik is a legendary plugin suite that is now integrated with PhotoLab. Honorable Mention goes to Capture One Pro - but this seriously underrates the application - IMHO it is the BEST raw converter on the market for a long list of reasons. My problem with it is that as good as it is, it is NOT a complete solution. It is a very powerful raw conversion engine, but it misses the mark on fussy, detail-level editing/retouching. However, I use it together with Photoshop/Lightroom - just because it is a better raw converter than LR.

There is a lot of junk out there for free or almost free - for me it takes too much effort to get the results I get with the above-mentioned applications, and yes, I do use all of them.

FastStone Image Viewer, which is much more than just a viewer, might meet your modest requirements very well. It's totally free so nothing to lose by trying it. Below is a quote from a comparison review of several similar apps and that is by no means a complete list of it's features.

"If you like viewing your photos in full-screen, the FastStone Image Viewer allows you to get a clear view of the photo. The app is user-friendly, fast, and stable with a wide array of features such as resizing, cropping, red-eye removal, color adjustments, retouching, and emailing."

I have been photographing wildlife (mostly birds) for several years and I am basically a purist but still do some
photo editing.My Mac which died had Iphotos and for a variety of reasons I have switched to a PC. So here are
the tools I will need. Cropping , color saturation , noise , sharpness , healing tool , brightness , and hue.
Most of the editors I have looked at seem to be oriented more to special effects rather than making some basic changes to photo that is good to start with.
Any suggestions are welcome.

Of course, PhotoShop is the photographic gold standard, and both Gene51 and CHUG_CANON give Great Factual Advice.
They also post great examples of what they can do, so there is NEVER BS from these guys.

However, I like simple tools. I guess that I am just lazy, but I like specific tools for specific applications/jobs. So I use Topaz Products. They have a free trial period and I find that they work great.
Topaz Products FAQs: https://help.topazlabs.com/hc/en-us

Topaz workflow: https://topazlabs.com/the-ultimate-workflow-for-topaz-labs-ai-software/?utm_source=Topaz+Updates&utm_campaign=8c480bdca3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_11_19_04_29&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5e4dd8652a-8c480bdca3-92602881&mc_cid=8c480bdca3&mc_eid=c9be7297b0

Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=topaz+tutorials+on+youtube
Jim Nix Topaz Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Jim+Nix+topaz
David Kelly Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dave+kelly+topaz

How to make Topaz Products Run Faster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GraqwH2YYJ4
Whatever you choose, good luck on your photographic journey, and always use/do what is best for you.

Smile,
JimmyT Sends

FastStone Image Viewer, which is much more than just a viewer, might meet your modest requirements very well. It's totally free so nothing to lose by trying it. Below is a quote from a comparison review of several similar apps and that is by no means a complete list of it's features.

"If you like viewing your photos in full-screen, the FastStone Image Viewer allows you to get a clear view of the photo. The app is user-friendly, fast, and stable with a wide array of features such as resizing, cropping, red-eye removal, color adjustments, retouching, and emailing."

My suggestion will always be the "no-compromise" app, or more accurately bundle. This would be Photoshop/Lightroom. My second choice would be DXO Photolab/Nik bundle. My last choice would be On1 RAW which is bundled with Effects, et al. The least desirable is On1 - it shows great promise and they are working overtime to steal some market share from Adobe, but even after 6 versions of migrating to their raw converter it still suffers from "NRFPT" syndrome (not ready fro prime time) - it crashes, some things take way too long to accomplish, etc. DXO PHotolab is pretty mature and Nik is a legendary plugin suite that is now integrated with PhotoLab. Honorable Mention goes to Capture One Pro - but this seriously underrates the application - IMHO it is the BEST raw converter on the market for a long list of reasons. My problem with it is that as good as it is, it is NOT a complete solution. It is a very powerful raw conversion engine, but it misses the mark on fussy, detail-level editing/retouching. However, I use it together with Photoshop/Lightroom - just because it is a better raw converter than LR.

There is a lot of junk out there for free or almost free - for me it takes too much effort to get the results I get with the above-mentioned applications, and yes, I do use all of them.

I have been photographing wildlife (mostly birds) for several years and I am basically a purist but still do some
photo editing.My Mac which died had Iphotos and for a variety of reasons I have switched to a PC. So here are
the tools I will need. Cropping , color saturation , noise , sharpness , healing tool , brightness , and hue.
Most of the editors I have looked at seem to be oriented more to special effects rather than making some basic changes to photo that is good to start with.
Any suggestions are welcome.