Quark [QRK] - Yes, that shocked you didn't it! It may have previous misdemeanours, real or perceived but this is the here and now. It's shaken off its past, anyone can mine it, it was first to use 9 rounds and it is very cheap.
Ripple [XRP] - Well, another shock! It's not even a proper cryptocurrency. However I believe that it has a very strong chance of taking a huge chunk of Paypal and EMV merchant business. I wish I had more than a few hundred! (I think I will put my BTC where my mouth is!)
VertCoin [VTC] - A good example of the new Paradigm in the alt markets - Excellent fundamentals and cheap compared to 1st/2nd tier currencies. Still room for strong growth
Frozen [FZ] - A bit like Quark this one! Had a bit of a dodgy start but was taken over by an excellent and talented community. The fundamentals are strong on this one and, despite its relative rarity, its very cheap!
Netcoin [NET] - All fundamentals look good with this - apart from no major innovation - could say the same about LTC! A nice touch is the 'foundation' who actually show their faces! Very Cheap!
Memory [MMC] As above and with good innovation. Very Cheap! (Bloody hell! I had better buy some of these myself!)
eMark [DEM] A difficult one this. I believe that BTC needs some alt SHA256 coins to survive long term - a bit like the birds who pick ticks off of the crocodiles! 
The alt winner(s) will show strong growth - I think DEM has those fundamentals but it could be another like freicoin (motivation/cause) or Asic (does what it says on the tin).
eToken [ETOK] - Another contender for very strong growth short term. Good fundamentals and very cheap. Could get a kick from another exchange listing.
Argentum [ARG] - Ditto above! (Again! I had better get some of these in!)
Xivra [XVR] - I saved the best for last! This little gem has excellent fundamentals! It is low diff and new with excellent devs and roadmap/services. Anyone who mines or buys this over the next few weeks is going to do very very well in my opinion!
QQC is also worth a look IMHO
To sum up my analysis - Alt trading is shifting to a more mature level. Fundamentals are more important than age or hype/pump. Don't buy anything from the above list before a:) you research that coin and b:) you agree with my analysis! 
Research! Research! and then buy/mine!
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Yea, well, it's time to go back to the drawing board and do much better research!
CPU Types:
CPU type coins are merely scammed up coins engineered for vast bot-net's, most likey for use by their developers, and released on an unsuspecting public as merely a coin for the masses. Maybe difficult to believe or accept, but it's the end result, intended, or otherwise.
CPU type crypto's don't exactly have a lock on the future as their exposed for what they really are, and why. In fact it's likely obvious as the truth becomes widely known that their apt to be first to crash and burn.
Even the new Maxcoin may suffer the same fate. These CPU coins are not what they appear to be since some actors are never going to play fair, and will utilize illegal bot-nets to make millions, while others receive crumbs for their cpu mining efforts. Not exactly a good public relations thing there going forward, after close scrutiny is had.
VRT:
VRT coin is like almost every coin when released, just after release it soars on speculative greed by fools and dreamers.
Then finally when that demand fades due to far too high of pricing right then reality sets in, and of course the pricing dramatically drops quickly from that point, to find it's true supported price trading range.
Maybe VRT will prove to be the exception, but it's very doubtful. Then again maybe at least it wont be another lame-coin that is anything but what it was claimed to be: ie: "asic resistant".
Then again maybe VRT is ground breaking. It's not impressing myself much yet, but then only a tiny minority of crypto's have ever impressed me. And even some of those that I termed masterpieces ended up to my own disappointment, to have not lived up to what I thought they were. Worst still, even after closer inspection I was still fooled into thinking they were much better than what reality really is.
With as many VRT's as there will be in total, as many as litecoin, as I recall, added to the fact that alt. coins are a dime a dozen, it's quite easy to conclude many are smoking a pipe dream of riches while driving head first into a looming crash, most likely. At least when it comes to the vast majority of alternatives to bitcoin. In fact all but maybe less than a dozen, depending on how things play out.
Conclusion: VRT will quickly drop in price dramatically. Unless that is purchasing demand keeps up, or keeps outstripping supply. That's not likely since VRT too just like almost every crypto does at it's beginning grossly and dramatically favors the earliest adopters, whom mostly dump it as soon as they mine it, and run to btc for shelter from the inevitable continuous dumps.
Ripple:
Ripple, the jury is still out of if the Ripple Network is ultimately acceptable, What with it's
"need to extend trust" model needing to past the test of time. There is real risk in that model for the users, large risks, so indeed it will take time to work through all that. And see if it's a viable alternative to legacy networks, and if limitations and risks can be managed well enough.
The Others:
Alternative to Bitcoin are a dime a dozen. And recently they have become a dime per one hundred. And finally now rather suddenly alternatives to bitcoin are a dime per one thousand, and so on.
2014
2014 is truly a race to the mainstream marketplace. And it's Winner(s) take all. So far only Bitcoin has proven it's medal, with all others still lagging far behind. Or are already becoming laggard losers themselves, and merely masquerading as something that they wont ever be.
Only a few, or several, maybe up to a a dozen, or maybe two dozen, ultimately end up winning. No one knows how few or many will ultimately end up longer term winners/solutions. But already it's obvious that Bitcoin will take at the least half the entire mainstream marketplace all by itself, and possibly much more, or even almost all of it. At least that's what my own thinking already has evolved to. And why Bitcoin will face attacks from all corners from here out.
It's fantasy to think many, or most crypto's will last longer term. No one will care to juggle so many cryptos, and certainly not any businesses and merchants. At least not more than they must. With one being their favorite number.
Ethical coins are great, and all that. But it wont do them a bit of good (pun intended with the "bit" part) if they don't get to market before the market is locked up in favor of something else. Once folks adopt the crypto's of their choice the rest are apt to quickly fade away. The entire marketplace is apt to mostly be dominated be merely 1 to 16 cryptos, and likely much of it by merely a 1 to 3 crypto's. Maybe that's a bitter pill, but it sure beats pipe dreams of riches by those trying to win this crypto lottery.
Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware
I see this as the market 'growing up'. The changes to the rules on this forum also encourage trading on fundamentals.