1. What are a few good Crypto exchanges?
Pick tier 1 exchanges in lists given by Coinmarketcap or Coingecko but remember that centralized exchanges are dangerous for storing your bitcoins there.
2. what are some good Hardware wallets?
Good hardware wallets must be non custodial and open source.
[LIST] Open Source Hardware Wallets3. I assume that when i send crypto to my hardware wallet, i use the wallet address ? so any wallet i choose this can be accomplished?
To receive bitcoins, you have to let the sender knowing your Bitcoin public address. In HD wallet, there are many addresses and you can share one of those addresses to the sender.
Learn more about HD wallets.
https://learnmeabitcoin.com/technical/keys/hd-wallets/4. from what I understand that when I use a hardware wallet , the crypto I purchase is actually not on the wallet but stored on the block chain? if so, could the block chain be hacked? has it before?
Bitcoin blockchain has never been 51% attacked.
5. what is the most secure way to store crypto?
Cold wallets, and hardware wallets are cold ones.
thanks for the reply....ok will check all that out....