We discuss our work on simple aliphatic glass-forming monoalcohols at low temperatures, including experiments on specific heat, thermal conductivity, Brillouin scattering and x-ray diffraction. The family of simple monoalcohols is an interesting model system for exploring molecular glass-forming liquids, the low-temperature universal properties of glasses, and even the glass transition phenomenon itself. More specifically, we examine the role of the molecular aspect ratio in the kinetics of vitrification/crystallization, the reported appearance of particular cases of polymorphism (in ethanol) and polyamorphism (in butanol), and, especially, the influence of positional isomerism and the location of the hydrogen bond on the lattice dynamics and, therefore, on the universal low-temperature properties of glasses. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.