Collection Classes (C# Programming Guide)

The .NET Framework provides specialized classes for data storage and retrieval. These classes provide support for stacks, queues, lists, and hash tables. Most collection classes implement the same interfaces, and these interfaces may be inherited to create new collection classes that fit more specialized data storage needs.

When to Use Generic Collections 

Using generic collections is generally recommended, because you gain the immediate benefit of type safety without having to derive from a base collection type and implement type-specific members. In addition, generic collection types generally perform better than the corresponding nongeneric collection types (and better than types derived from nongeneric base collection types) when the collection elements are value types, because with generics there is no need to box the elements.