Just so that you don't confuse yourself, the settings you are referring to here relates to the exposure compensation; the white balance is something different, and settings for this include auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, etc.
In terms of a good lens to replace your 18-55mm 'kit' lens without spending too much money, you could do a lot worse than getting yourself a Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 VC; it was one of the first upgrades I made a few years back and I really can't fault the performance of it or justify replacing, especially considering the price.