Is there a difference between the clear bottle water itself,and the non clear 1 gallon containers.The clear bottle water seems to taste better....

The cloudy one gallon jugs can and will leak over time for no apparent reason , if you keep them past the expiration date, regardless of the brand. I have never seen one of these clear plastic jugs leak. If one would like to keep some extra water around for an emergency these work well.

How many bottles for the quoted price?

For Amazon FRESH, it is one bottle, currently sold for $0.99 ($0.01 / Fl Oz)

How do I get a refund on an item I did not get?

This is December 2021, so still no answer. Poland Springs, if you had any honor, you would either always deliver all gallons paid for or refund for damaged jugs.