What's the best video editing software?

Depends on what platform you are using.

For a PC, i like Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum (or Platinum Pro)

Mac
Free: iMovie
Paid: Final Cut Pro

what about pinnacle studio 12?

or power director 7?

@PupnTaco – An addendum…
Pirated: Final Cut Pro

Not that I’d know.

to be honest, they are all going to be about the same for the price you want to pay. excepting pirated Final cut pro, or Avid, which would be less costly and more robust
you can do a line by line feature comparison to see if one has something unique that you may find a use for, but for general purpose editing it’s not going to matter that much.

Final Cut Express is still great and only costs about $149.99