The EVM is like Windows or macOS, an operating system reading and understanding programs written in Ethereum's specific language: Solidity. It is a Turing-complete software that enables anyone to run any program, making the process of creating blockchain-based applications much easier and more efficient than ever before.
That is why there are thousands of different applications running on Ethereum's blockchain, because you do not have to write an entirely new language to be able to build an application.
Say you want to create a new coin that would be used only...