Different converters produce different results. I use three: DPP, ACR and DxO. Each is better in some situations - I've not yet learned how to predict. My summary is:
DPP - comes with camera and is therefore "free". Excellent with colors. If the lens correction supports your lenses, it can be quite effective. Overall, the program's interface is pretty poor but easy. Can produce excellent results; does not understand DNG.
ACR - comes with either Lightroom or Photoshop which you will need anyway. Arguably as good or better than all the others - especially with the support from Mr. Schewe's book and the videos available on this site. I prefer the ACR that is invoked by Bridge because the sliders are bigger. With sufficient expertise, you can accomplish pretty much everything that any other converter can do. It is my mainstay.
DxO - does a few things differently and sometimes better. It corrects for lenses based on their massive database acquired from their testing software and corrects for noise all in the process of conversion. Workflow is reasonably efficient. Although the DNG output is already "cooked", I like to use DxO as a pre-processor for ACR.
I would suggest using DPP if you don't have PS or LR. Wait until you have issues and then try ACR. If you still have issues try some of the others.
