New to RAW. Recommended RAW settings for Nikon D7000? Any tips?

I'm new to RAW I was wondering if anyone has any recommended settings for it?

There are no settings except for ISO and an approximate white balance.

Everything else is processed by you using Lightroom 3 or other RAW processing program

You don't seem to understand the point of the RAW format. You shoot in RAW so that the camera settings like sharpness and saturation are not used. The point of RAW is to enable you to change your settings using editing software instead of using camera settings.

One important point is that programs such as Lightroom do not alter the RAW file, they produce copies with your adjustments applied.
The settings are saved in separate file area by Lightroom and the original RAW file is not altered.

This means you can go back and and change the settings easily any time.

http://aviewfinderdarkly.com.au

IF you shoot in RAW with your Nikon D7000, you will not be able to use LIghtroom 1 or 2 for your RAW converter. You need LR 3. Same with ACR in Adobe PHotoshop. Earlier version of PS will not open D7000 NEF files.

Whatever your camera settings are when you shoot in RAW will create those settings as a default to the preview file. Things like WB, Sharpness, B&W etc. However, after you open the file with LR 3, you can change those settings without any loss of image quality. If you shot an image under Tungsten light, but had the camera white balance set to "daylight".It's okay. You can change it back in LR.

Now, shutter speed, aperture, ISO can't be changed in LR. You will be able to correct your RAW file exposures more if the are shot in NEF, and get rid of noise better in LR 3, but again, you can only go so far.

You need to understand what RAW images are.

When you photograph in JPEG or TIFF format the camera settings are merged with the image within the camera to produce the final image file but when you photograph in RAW the camera produces 2 files - the image and the camera settings.

It is because the camera settings are available in a separate file that allows them to be edited within the RAW conversion program before being saved for further editing by any commercial editing software.

As you have a Nikon D7000 I would have expected a copy of Nikon's Capture NX program to be supplied on the software disc although it now seems that this is supplied as a TRIAL version only and available for 60 days from first being uploaded ono your computer. With this software the initial image is edited by Nikon View then you call Nikon Capture NX to undertake the second stage of processing to create the final image file in JPEG ir TIFF format as required.