I have installed various linux distros to try them out ( fx Linux Mint and Pinguy ), they both worked fine, but i am some problems figuring out which update are important and which is specific to software i wont use.. some distros offer ratings of how important a certain update is, but i lack any info that will help me see thru all those dependencies and whatnot, that is out there via the various software manangers/updaters.. are there any guidelines or best practices i not know of ?

I think a good rules is: Perform all updates as soon as the become available. Most package managements systems will only install updates to software that your system needs, updates to software you have installed, or updates to dependencies of either of the previous cases. Updates provide improved functionality, security, and performance.

It really isn't practical to go through every update and pick and choose. If you think there are too many updates, you need to review your list of top-level installed packages, and see which of those you really need and which of those can be removed. After you've trimmed down those packages, you will see a decrease in the number of dependencies and thus the number of updates. For example, if you have two word processing programs on your computer, but only need one, delete the one you don't use. Then, you won't ever have to install updates for that program, or any of the libraries or lower-level programs that it uses.

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Thanks for the very exhaustive answer