1. Linked lists are dynamic data structures that do not require fixed size memory blocks like arrays. Each node of a linked list contains a data field and a pointer to the next node.
2. There are three main types of linked lists: singly linked lists where each node has a single pointer to the next node; doubly linked lists where each node has pointers to both the next and previous nodes; and circular linked lists where the last node points back to the first node.
3. Common operations on linked lists include insertion and deletion of nodes, as well as traversing the list from head to tail or vice versa. Linked lists allow flexible and efficient dynamic memory allocation compared to static structures like arrays.