My list of software isn't very long, the primary reason is that specialty software tends to be very expensive, at least to me anyway.
Corel Draw - I currently own Corel Draw version 10, this is the software I use for almost 90% of all my engraving work. Corel Draw supports both raster and vector objects, vector objects and lines are cut by the engraver and raster lines are burned or engraved. Although you can use almost any graphics program to send a file to the engraver Corel has the best feature set for sending the final file. Another nice feature of Corel is their graphic library, many are vector graphics and I use them often.
PhotoGrav - This is a specialty program that is used to process a photograph for engraving. Basically you use the photo editor of your choice to adjust the size of your file, convert it to grayscale, make any adjustments you feel are necessary and save the file. Finally you open the saved file in Photograv and it will make about ten thousand decisions for you and adjust the photo for final engraving. After you save the file in PhotoGrav you must then open it in Corel Draw and send it it the laser.
Paint Shop Pro - PSP version 8 is an inexpensive photo editing program. I have ben using PSP for web graphics work for years and I'm comfortable with it so most of the photo manipulation I do in PSP.
IntelliScribe - I purchased IntelliScribe so that I could send files to my engraver across my network. The engraver does have a parallel port but it is painfully slow and not an option for very large files. IntelliScribe is necessary for Windows 95/98, Windows 2000 and up have built-in support for network printing and 2000 is much faster sending large files.
Turbo Cad - My laser will accept files directly from almost any CAD program. There are situations where CAD programs are the best choice for certain types of jobs. Cad programs are easier to design precision projects and have the capability of setting line widths at any thickness. My engraver interprets any line that is less than .003" thick as a vector line. I registered version 7 but have not kept up with their upgrades, they are overly expensive and I am not fond of the software.
Scanning software - I have an old HP 5p SCSI scaner and I use the HP driver native to Windows 2000. I scan directly into either PSP or Corel Draw.
This is my current software list but I am considering purchasing another program designed to reduce the time it takes to convert graphics to vector objects. Although Corel Draw has this capability it is a very slow and tedious process.