Better coins exist? I don't believe so. Learn the bitcoin protocol. Not tangible? So what? Bitcoin is a real estate, fixed amount- hence rare.
Unstable? That's because the market is speculative. You can't do much with it today, there are many unanswered questions about it. All those things causes its instability. However, there is a great community and great developers behind bitcoin. I'm sure the future of bitcoin is bright.