The Top 40 Torrent Sites of 2010

The Top 40 Torrent Sites of 2010

The Top 40 Torrent Sites of 2010

Where Downloaders Find Music and Movie Files.

By Paul Gil, About.com Guide

See More About:

• top torrent sites
• how bit torrents work
• p2p file sharing
• drm and copyright

As of October 17, 2010, several torrent search sites have achieved noteworthy status with our About.com readers. The following list is the long version of the Top 10 list. About.com also offers a Visual Guide of Top Torrent Sites.

This list is randomly ordered. Special thanks to all the readers who contribute their recommendations so that this list stays current.

TIP: How to Speed Up Your Torrent Download Speeds

TIP: before you use any download site or P2P network, make sure you install a reliable antivirus like Avira. While most P2P users are honest, there are vandals who will abuse P2P file sharing as a way to propogate viruses.


RECOMMENDED: Tixati - a slick new torrent client software package

RELATED: The Best Torrent Client Software

TIP: How to Spot Fake Torrents

TIP: Conceal Your P2P Identity with Peer Block Software

Submit Your Torrent Site Suggestion: you are welcome to suggest a torrent site for inclusion in this list.

1. TorrentZap: This was recommended recently by readers.
   
   
2. yourbittorrent.com This site is delightfully clean and fast. For high-volume downloaders, this site is a really slick choice.
   
   
3. BiteNova (formerly known as "Bi-Torrents", BiteNova is a free Torrent site with a spartan look and fast searching format.)
   
   
4. Torrent Root: as another metasearch engine, Torrent Root will scan through other search engines on your behalf, and display the results in a slick tabbed interface.
   
   
5. CinemaTorrents: this site offers something really unique: IMDB ratings and vote information right on the search page. You can see public opinions on the movie itself before you download.
   
   
6. Torrentbit.nl This Netherlands site offers a simple interface and large index of torrents. It also offers a broad selection of European language movies and music.
   
   
7. ExtraTorrent.com ExtraTorrent.com is very visual and very busy. But the thumbnails and file information at this site are tremendous. This site is definitely worth trying, as it is very browsing-friendly for discovering movies and music artists.
   
   
8. Meganova.org, which has been rebranded as "Seed Peer", is a site with many years of history in the torrent community. Unfortunately, the site seems to have been a target for malware being spread through older versions of Java language. Make sure you have Avira or antivirus software installed and running before you visit this or any torrent site.
   
   
9. BitToxic.com While the name is awkward to type, these folks offer a solid semi-private search site. The memberships might be closed soon, so visit them right away!
   
   
10. LinuxTracker.org (For legal linux torrents and virtual machines.)
    
    
11. Gpirate.com (A newer torrent search engine that several readers are very fond of.)
    
    
12. Thunderbytes: As of March 2010, Thunderbytes is a private site that you'll need an invitation to join.
    
    
13. Blues Brothers: Blues Brothers is a private site with a strong community and file-sharing ethic. As a private site, you can expect the leeching (selfish) users to be reduced. The BB community also strives to police itself by carefully watching each member's upload ratio... if you abuse your ratio, you are blocked from downloading until you donate. This policy may seem a bit harsh, but members seem to really appreciate it.
    
    
14. Nowtorrents.com Now Torrents (allegedly) offers a special service: it filters out fake/dead torrents. It also offers date-range searching, so you can search for specific years of content (e.g. Flight of the Conchords, 2008).
    
    
15. Plentyoftorrents: this is a kind of launchpad search engine that offers choices where you want to search. Multiple users have recommended Plentyoftorrents this summer; let us know what you think of this site.
    
    
16. Torrent Tree
    This search site is written in Ajax code language. Like any metasearch engine, Torrent Tree pulls its results from many other search engines. But Torrent Tree pulls *more* search results than any other current metasearcher. Definitely give this site a try.
    
    
17. Demonoid.com Demonoid is a private community, and members are held liable for any leeching that their invited friends do in this community. If you are lucky enough to get a Demonoid membership, invite your friends carefully, lest you lose your own membership.
    
    
18. Entertane: An obscure-but-good metasearch engine. Pore through 24 other torrent sites quickly by using Entertane.com. Just be patient when you click the name of each sub-search engine... it takes a few moments to load each result list.
    
    
19. Torrentz.com (special thanks to reader, Jonathan R., for this link)
    
    
20. Bitsoup Bitsoup is a favorite with some P2P downloaders, but this summer 2010 has not been a warm time at the Bitsoup community. There are allegations of draconian forum moderation and heavy-handed administrators being abusive to members. If you try Bitsoup, let us know how they treat you there.