Sirius
Sirius, which has an apparent magnitude of -1.46, is 8.6 light years away. It is only about twice the size of the sun, and outshines much larger stars because it is relatively close to our solar system. What appears to be one star is actually a binary system containing two different stars, Sirius A and Sirius B.
Canopus
Canopus has a magnitude of -0.72. It is 310 light years away. It is visible only south of 37.18 degrees north latitude, which is just south of San Francisco.
Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri is actually two stars, Alpha Centauri A and B. On its own, Alpha Centauri A is the fourth brightest star in the night sky, but since the naked eye can't tell the difference between the two stars, the whole system appears to be the third brightest star. It is only visible in part of the northern hemisphere; observers above 29 degrees north latitude will be unable to find it. For those in the lower northern latitudes, it appears near the southern horizon. Its combined magnitude is -0.27, and it is 4.4 light years away, the closest of any star aside from the Sun.
Arcturus
Arcturus has a magnitude of -0.04, and is located 37 light years away. It is part of the Bootes constellation.
Vega
Vega has a magnitude of 0.03. It is part of the Lyra constellation, and is 25 light years away from Earth.
Capella
Capella is actually two different binary systems so close together that they appear as one star to the naked eye. Counted together, they are the sixth brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent magnitude of 0.08. Capella is 42 light years away.
Rigel
Rigel has a magnitude of 0.12, and is 770 light years away. It is the brightest star in the Orion constellation. It is 17 times as massive as the sun and 85,000 times as luminous, making it one of the most luminous stars in our part of the galaxy.
Procyon
Procyon is one of two stars in the constellation Canis Minor. Its magnitude is 0.34, and it is 11 light years away.
Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in the constellation Orion, but it occasionally outshines Rigel. Its apparent magnitude varies from 0.2 to 1.2, with an average of 0.42. Betelgeuse is a red supergiant, with a diameter 1,180 times that of the sun.
Achernar
Achernar is part of the constellation Eridanus. Its magnitude is 0.5 and it is 140 light years away. Of the top 10 brightest stars, it is the hottest and the most blue, burning with a surface temperature of 14,510 kelvins. It is only visible below 33 degrees north latitude, roughly the latitude of Dallas, Texas.