Soulseek is an open-source file-sharing program that's popular for sharing music only. Many people appreciate its community features, which give users the chance to chat about recent downloads and share files of mutual appreciation. Since the application is free of ads, it provides a streamlined experience for users tired of peer-to-peer programs loaded with flashing advertisements at every turn. Because Soulseek is worked on by many different programmers, it's virtually bug-free.

Soulseek users can view how many other users are queued to download a particular song; when higher numbers are observed, it's easy to go get a different copy if one is online. There's never a shortage of sources for music on Soulseek, either. Music fanatics abound with many thousands of songs from every genre.

Music downloaders familiar with peer-to-peer programs have probably seen entire folders of interest before. Sometimes these are albums, but others hold superior collections of songs. Soulseek simplifies obtaining these folders by letting users simply right-click and download the entire folder. All contained items are automatically listed on the download queue.

When users can't immediately find the songs or albums they want, they can put the files on a Wishlist that Soulseek will check for availability on a continual basis. When the right computers log on at a later time, the Wishlist items can be downloaded without additional work.

While Soulseek is a free application, users can enjoy a distinct advantage by paying the developer a meager five-dollar donation. The payoff is thirty days of no waiting behind queues, which saves time for users who are desirous of music with few sources but plenty of other fans. Software and movies aren't available on Soulseek, but it has nearly perfected audio file-sharing in many ways. In the search for free music, P2P users should check Soulseek first.