I've been listening to Hardcore since 1988 and I still have a huge collection (which some the are valuable) of Vinyl 12"/7"s, CD's and cassettes. 
My all time favorite band is Breakdown from Yonkers N.Y. which I still have their demo! Before discovering NYHC I was listening to Thrash & Black Metal like Metallica, Slayer, Venom, Anthrax, Iron Maiden.... Then a friend at school gave me a cassette with Black Flag, The Exploited, Murphy's Law and Cro-Mags on it and hearing it once was all it took to get me hooked! So I started going down to "The Village" in Manhattan to buy 7" EP's at Bleecker Bob's record store because it was the only place you could find them. While in the store I noticed a bunch of flyers by the front door, they were of Hardcore shows with the bands of the records that were in my hands. Flyer says something like "Sunday Hardcore Matinees at CBGB's" so I asked the employee where it was and it wasn't to far from here. So the next Sunday I was standing in line at CBGB's and it was only $5 to see 5 bands. Now if you don't know nothing about CBGB's, I'll tell you! It was basically a dark and dinghy crappy looking bar covered with graffiti and a million stickers and a stage that was only about a foot high off the floor. The place was packed with teenagers mostly from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Mind you this is the first "concert" I've ever been to so I didn't know what to expect. Then the first band was ready to start and as soon as the Bass line started the place erupted into a pit of mayhem! Kids running up on stage and diving off and landing on top of the crowd, moshing going on in the center of the club and the band jumping around the stage as if they were gymnastics masters. It was AMAZING! So as you can guess I was at CBGB's every Sunday after that. Then in January there was the Super Bowl of Hardcore at the Ritz near 14th St. Union Square. That show was 20 of the top band at the time. It's a day and a time in my life I'll never forget! I still listen to Hardcore today!
New York hardcore (NYHC) is hardcore punk and metalcore music created in New York City, and the subculture associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Washington, D.C., by bands such as Bad Brains and Minor Threat. It was primarily a phenomenon of the 1980s and 1990s.
The scene was focused around venues such as the famous CBGBs, ABC No Rio, A7 and Brooklyn's L'amour. The New York scene was home to most of the early influential bands, such as Agnostic Front, Beastie Boys, Cro-Mags, Adrenalin O.D., Sheer Terror, Murphy's Law, Warzone. Later New York hardcore groups included Youth Of Today, Sick of It All, Breakdown, Subzero, Gorilla Biscuits 
, Token Entry, Judge and BOLD.
Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated sXe or signified by an X on your hands) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. For some, this extends to refraining from engaging in promiscuous sex, following a vegetarian or vegan diet, and/or not using caffeine or prescription drugs. The term straight edge was adopted from the 1981 song (only 46 seconds long) "Straight Edge" by the hardcore punk band Minor Threat.
During the youth crew era, which started in the mid-1980s, the influence of music on the straight edge scene seemed to be at an all-time high. The new branches of straight edge that came about during this era seemed to originate from ideas presented in songs, and many youth crew bands had a strong heavy metal influence. Notable youth crew bands included: Youth of Today, Gorilla Biscuits , Judge, Bold, Chain of Strength, Turning Point, Uniform Choice, and Slapshot.
