What this post is about
I want to do a post about all the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market share, a little information about each of them. If you have been around cryptocurrencies for a while this post might not be for you so just keep that in mind.
Glossary of terms used in this post.
Market Cap - Market capitalization is just a fancy name for a straightforward concept: it is the market value of a cryptocurrencies available supply. This figure is found by taking the current coin price and multiplying it by the total number of coins that have been mined.
White Paper - A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. This is usually the first information to come out about a cryptocurrency
Blockchain - Every node in a decentralized system has a copy of the blockchain. No centralized "official" copy exists and no user is "trusted" more than any other. Transactions are broadcast to the network using software applications. Mining nodes validate transactions, add them to the block they're creating and then broadcast the completed block to other nodes. Blockchains use various timestamping schemes, such as proof-of-work to serialize changes.
1 - Bitcoin - BTC 
Current price: $611USD $797AUD
Market Cap: $9,725,000,146USD
All time high: $1216.73US
My Thoughts:
While bitcoin didn't start the cryptocurrency space, it has been the first of them to gain worldwide acceptance and/or atleast get noticed. Personally I have my own bitcoin debit card here in Australia which works flawlessly, I would have never dreamed of this when I first heard about cryptocurrencies. I have also made online and face-to-face transactions in bitcoin. I will always share a love for bitcoin, I wasn't in the market during the mtGox inflated rise the ATH thankfully but all day while it was happening my heart was fluttering with a joyful and exciting stress. (somehow I knew things weren't right).
Bitcoin Explained:
Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks; managing transactions and the issuing of bitcoins is carried out collectively by the network. Bitcoin is open-source; its design is public, nobody owns or controls Bitcoin and everyone can take part. Through many of its unique properties, Bitcoin allows exciting uses that could not be covered by any previous payment system. - bitcoin.org
How Bitcoin Started:
According to legend, Satoshi Nakamoto began working on the Bitcoin concept in 2007. While he is on record as living in Japan, it is speculated that Nakamoto may be a collective pseudonym for more than one person. - historyofbitcoin.org
2 - Ethereum - ETH 
Current price: $13.46USD $17.54AUD
Market Cap: $1,142,048,956USD
All Time High: $18.95US
My Thoughts:
Ethereum excites me quite a lot due to the use cases surrounding it. It has a very passionate community (At times too passionate). There has been sound really interesting uses for Ethereum so far (consensus voting, video game wagering) but I believe the best is yet to come. I play around with programming on ethereum in my spare time, it has a really great development team and the information and tools used are frequently updated making learning easy.
Ethereum is not intended as a store of value like bitcoin, the ether is used to fuel the computing for dapps that use the computing function of its network and blockchain.
Ethereum Explained:
Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third party interference.
These apps run on a custom built blockchain, an enormously powerful shared global infrastructure that can move value around and represent the ownership of property. This enables developers to create markets, store registries of debts or promises, move funds in accordance with instructions given long in the past (like a will or a futures contract) and many other things that have not been invented yet, all without a middle man or counterparty risk. - ethereum.org
3 - Ripple - XRP 
Current price: $0.00800448USD
Market Cap: $283,960,363USD
My Thoughts:
Ripple is not decentralised, which is what got me into cryptocurrencies in the first place. Satoshi wanted to design a system where you didn't have to trust someone to control the system and keep things in check. Which brings me to ripple, it has no desktop wallet client and is not as open and honest as other cryptocurrencies.
Ripple Explained:
Ripple works with banks to transform how they send money around the world — a necessary step to compete in today’s growing economy. Our vision is to enable the Internet of Value so the world can move value the way it moves information today. - ripple.com
Stay tuned for part 2.
Future posts will be more geared towards the code and applications. I hope you have gained some insight into the basics of cryptocurrencies.