Hi ray,
I entirely agree with Graham, RAW is not something to be afraid of, it gives you a lot more control and gives you greater flexibility for the final results. You can get detail in both bright and dark areas that look like there is nothing other than white or black when you look at it in a jpeg version. This is because when processing a jpg, it takes areas that are all of a very similar shade and makes them into one colour. The more compressed, the more shades all become one and detail is lost.
You can adjust the blacks, the whites, all the colours, the contrast, vibrancy, saturation, clarity, exposure and colour temperature.... and that's just the basic stuff. Just sticking to those will give you a load of control you could only dream of with your jpg pics
You haven't got your camera gear listed so I am not sure what you use, except I am pretty sure it's a Canon - just a hunch <g> so whether you are using a xxxD range or an xxD range, you can set your camera to shoot RAW + Jpg together. That does use a bit more memory but it also means you have got a jpg version as backup in case you are not confident of adjusting the RAW picture.
Like Graham, I never use anything other than RAW these days but I entirely recognise it can feel like a big step to take so using the dual route means you can confidently move forward knowing the picture is in the bag but a better one is potentially available to you
Cheers,
Rob