Bit Torrent Search Engines

What is Bit Torrent?

Before we proceed any further, it might be useful to describe what Bit Torrent is all about. Well, it functions in much the same way as P2P-based networks like Kazaa and Limewire, except you can download more than a single file at a time.

Just like peer-to-peer networks, when using a Bit Torrent client like BitComet or BitTornado, you simultaneously connect to a number of users from all over the world. You are constantly uploading the portions you have received thus far while downloading the pieces that are still "missing." In this way, you give while you receive and everyone gets the full file in the most expedient manner.

Because it is decentralized, the Bit Torrent community cannot be shut down, unlike the original Napster.

After downloading these music batch files -- "torrents" typically contain entire albums, discographies, or collections -- you can either burn the music on a CD or upload it to your favorite portable MP3 player (like the iPod nano).

Legalities and Other Risks

Whenever you download music from the Internet, there is an inherent risk that you are falling into a legally gray area. After all, most of this material carries a copyright and it is not legal to get this content for free. At the same time, many artists offer samples of their music on the web to entice you to buy the full album from sources like Amazon or iTunes.

In this way, you should only look into downloading legal music. The history of MP3 music is colored with a lot of legal issues, so proceed with caution. It should also be noted that much "pirated" or "stolen" content is riddled with computer viruses, worms, and malware. If you choose to tread into legally gray areas, we highly recommend that you invest in a powerful anti-virus and computer security program.

The Best Bit Torrent Search Engines

Although you can consider the top music download sites where you can get your tunes directly, the Bit Torrent protocol is much more robust and can result in much faster and more efficient downloads. Just remember the security and legal issues described in the section above.

To access files available through BT, you must make use of Bit Torrent search engines. These will produce "torrent" files that do not contain the music files themselves, but they will open up the appropriate portal when opened in a Bit Torrent client program.

Here are five of the best Bit Torrent search engines, in no particular order:

• TorrentSpy: To our knowledge, this website has one of the largest torrent indexes available without a membership. There are over 420,000 torrents in its database, offering music, videos, games, software, and more. The advertising can be very distracting, however.
• Isohunt: Perhaps one of the more user-friendly search engines on the Internet, Isohunt has a huge database of torrents, spanning just about every genre of music. The advertising is prevalent but less distracting.
• Demonoid: Liked by many torrent enthusiasts, this website is membership-based and accounts are not freely available at all times. Also, Demonoid is self-policing, tracking how much you share. They will ban "leechers".
• The Pirate Bay: Many people loved this bit torrent search engine, but it was because of its popularity and prominence that it was shut down in May 2006 for legal reasons. In May 2006, it was re-launched, but legal issues still exist.
• FileList: This search engine is liked by many because most of the files contained within its torrents are reasonably "clean" of viruses and the like. Also like Demonoid, FileList is self-policing and will track your download/upload ratio.