The Best of Torrent clients

Newcomers to the wondrous joys of the world's greatest peer-to-peer file sharing protocol are always asking one question: "Which BitTorrent client is best?"

• AzureusIf you're looking for a slew of features -- and really, I mean a ton of features -- then Azureus is for you. I often call Azureus the "kitchen sink" of BitTorrent clients. It supports plug-ins, so what it doesn't have can be slapped on after the fact. It's built in Java, which hurts the user experience and brings up some compatibility issues, but it also means that Azureus can run on any platform where Java can be installed.
  Good: Java means cross-platform; Azureus runs anywhere. Built-in features include advanced bandwidth management, an embedded tracker, management of files within torrents, support for trackerless torrents and a connection optimizer that can traverse firewalls with ease. Support for plug-ins. In a word, powerful.
  Bad: Java. You need to have the latest JRE installed in order for Azureus to operate correctly. The sluggishness problem becomes a nightmare under heavy traffic loads. Also, Azureus is so piled with standard features that new users may not know where to begin.
  Overall: Bloat and the Java requirement are downers, but is there anything Azureus can't do? Read the full review.
  Wired News rating: 8/10
  
• µTorrentThe µ is for micro, and "microTorrent" is a very, very tiny BitTorrent client. The entire application is 170 KB, and it packs enough features into that small package to compete with beefier applications like Azureus. The memory footprint is also ridiculously small. Even so, the client is responsive, fast and can handle a large workload without choking.
  Good: µTorrent has extensive bandwidth-management tools, support for UPnP and trackerless torrents, and users can limit downloads to specific files within torrents. µTorrent also has support for multiple trackers, so you can download the same torrent from two or more trackers at once. Torrents can be launched directly from the built-in RSS reader. And it looks nice, too. The user interface is uncluttered and skinnable.
  Bad: Windows only. That's really the only thing µTorrent has working against it.
  Overall: The best weight-to-performance ratio in the business ... if you're a Windows user. Read the full review.
  Wired News rating: 9/10