Some idiots are bound to recommend Limewire.

Limewire is peer-share software that connects you to other Limewire users. Peer-share is okay, but there are risks – like any free software, peer-share can host malware that will wreck your HD, and Limewire has a horrible rep for that. Sure it’s popular – but that’s the way the herd mentality works. About the only thing that pops up as often on YA as Limewire are all the people complaining about their crashed hard drives. Coincidence? It doesn’t matter if you have anti-virus software (or even retail-purchased software), if you voluntarily install LW on your PC, don’t be surprised when it seizes control.

If you must steal music using peer-share, consider using eMule or WinMX (but make sure that it’s a reliable site – don’t just google and pick the first site you find, as some Limewire users would).

Before you do that, you should know that many popular songs are still available on websites – check with sites like beemp3 or mp3raid. Just be aware that anytime you have to download something (or even just go to a page) you risk infecting your computer.

You don’t have to download the songs from the internet. You can stream them from sites like YouTube or LastFM or from internet radio stations. YOU CAN record the songs as they stream using programs like audacity, and save them as MP3 files.

Now, here’s the heresy – you don’t need to get your music from the internet – you can from CD’s using free software. You don’t have to own the CD’s, just borrow from people you know or from the library.