Torrents are definitely a great way to grab music, particularly from private trackers like Torrentech.org, but other options which can be useful too include usenet and DC++.

Usenet is basically a globally shared system of postings including files. Usually there's a monthly or bandwidth-based fee, but you can find a lot of good stuff there.

DC++ is a peer-to-peer file sharing system which involves getting a DC++ client (e.g. Strong DC++, ApexDC++), connecting to one or more "hubs", and then searching for files you need.

I like this for music in particular because there are hubs hosted in many different countries, and I've found lots of hard-to-find music and other stuff that way. It's also nice because you're able to right-click on a user in a hub and browse their entire collection of shared files. One disadvantage, however, is that if a user goes offline, you may not be able to complete a given download; also you might have to wait in queue to download from a popular user. All in all though this isn't too bad because frequently a file I'm looking for is shared by many of the participants.
Source(s):
http://www.ou.edu/research/electron/internet/use-faq.htm (FAQ on Usenet)

http://www.torrentech.org (Invite-only private torrent tracker site)

http://strongdc.sourceforge.net/index.php?lang=eng (StrongDC++)

http://www.apexdc.net (ApexDC++)


Permalink | Report