Look up the woods in this data base. That may help more than trying to describe the difference.

Cherry darkens naturally with age. Alder/maple do not darken as much, if at all. The finish used will also make a difference in finished color.

Cherry is an old standby upscale cabinet wood. Maple is also an old standby, just a bit less upscale and maple can be stained/dyed many different shades and colors.

Alder is one of the newer fad cabinet woods and can also be stained/dyed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Woods

Handymac's right on all counts. Also, you should be sure to ask for more details about the construction of these cabinets, because "cherry" never (or virtually never) means "these cabinets will be build from 100% solid cherry." It usually means that the parts of the cabinets visible when the doors are closed will be made from cherry. Often the cherry part is just a thin veneer, which is fine but it leaves the question of what's under that veneer. Will the doors be slab or frame and panel? Will panels be cherry plywood, cherry-veneered particleboard, solid cherry or... what, exactly? What about the cabinet boxes, what will they be made from? You should also go and see sample cabinets somewhere, either at a showroom or at another customer's house. There are many variables; the nominal wood species is not enough to base a decision on.

I know I asked the cabinet maker that was quoting Cherry ..what the boxes were made out of..but I have drawn a blank..cannot remember..on the alder/maple quote it states..Birch plywood construction for cabinet. Ball bearing drawer glides..is that good?

Ball bearing drawer guides are ubiquitous now; it's tough to buy cabinets without them. BUT there are many types of glides that use ball bearings, with a wide range of quality and usefulness among them. There are cheapie glides that cost only a couple of dollars per drawer and do well enough, but only allow you to pull the drawer out 3/4 of its length so that stuff in the back of the drawer can be hard to reach. At the other end of the scale (~$30/drawer) are glides that are completely concealed under the drawer, allow you to pull the drawer all the way out so you can access the very back of it easily ("full extension") and have a mechanism that gently closes the drawer for you so that it's impossible to slam. In between those price points are slides of varying quality that are full extension but that are mounted more conspicuously (some people think they're unattractive) and lack the soft-close feature.

If this is all new to you, you might want to spend some time browsing threads on cabinetry in the Kitchens forum. There are lots of options to choose from, many of which are worth the upcharges that inevitably go with them. If you don't yet have a detailed cabinet design and are just asking cabinet makers for guesstimates based on room size or linear feet of cabinets, then the prices they are giving you probably don't mean much.

I definitely have a design for the kitchen and all the cabinetry..pics and all given to these companies..going next week to check both places out and see first hand...what I would be getting..

Call or email Taylor Cabinet Door Company for a quote on refacing your existing cabinets if your boxes are in good shape and you like the lay out of the room then why spend that kind of money on new cabinets. Refacing is less expensive than tearing out and putting in new. I replaced 14 doors and 9 drawer fronts with new ones and all of the necessary veneers and panels for under $2000.00. The best part is no one could tell that it was a reface everyone thought we got new cabinets. Good luck on what you decide on.