Thanks for the input everyone.
dcstep I actually have been using lightroom and it works wonders on my pictures. I might upgrade to a new body if I find a good deal, otherwise I might just settle for a prime and call it a day for now. In case anyone is interested, here are some photos I've edited with lightroom, both ones I took and my friend's D5100. Hopefully it doesn't look too fake, I had to spend quite a bit of time getting the color back into the photos lol.
View post on imgur.com