Audiogalaxy

One of the most user friendly file-swapping programs on the net, Audiogalaxy claims to be "the web's best music search." Its interface is entirely web-based; all you have to download is their satellite program. Navigation basically consists of your homepage, where you'll see the status of your satellite's downloads, and a search box. Unlike Napster, however, there is no separate search box for artist and song; instead, you enter information like you would in a web-based search engine.

To speed up your downloads, your satellite connects you to the Audiogalaxy user closest in location to you, thereby making your geographic neighbor your virtual neighbor. Another distinctive feature is the ability to search by genre, giving users the chance to discover new music. Downloads are relatively fast, and because it's established, there's much more music to choose from. Beware of marketers' "surveillance"tie-ins, though, as Audiogalaxy is reportedly embedded with such "spyware."