do they really each have something unique about them?
No, some of them are copycats or otherwise dodgy coins.
However, all of the top ones are unique in at least some way - for example, Litecoin has faster block times; Monero has ring signatures for anonymity; IOTA has a DAG-based system; Ethereum has smart contracts, and more.
Whether or not they're different enough to warrant their price is another matter though.