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*Totally ignores all 'items' 'acquired' in this topic
Stay away from Kazaa, Limewire, and anything similar. Avoid them like the plague (or Optisan). Although they're a magnet for spyware, viruses and stuff, they're also incredibly easy to use for tracing. They're rarely secured, and even if they are, then they're still terrible to use anyway and "security" on the internet is NEVER foolproof. Also steer clear of eMule. If you can't find a file, you'll find it on eMule, but the program is just a pain to use and is probably hammered by law enforcement these days anyway.
Personally I'd use the torrent network (not providing links), specifically using Azureus. Note that this is NOT totally anonymous at all, don't let anyone tell you it is. To totally disguise yourself you'd need to go to great lengths, and even then that'd still be tracable if the law really wanted to go after you. Make sure you configure any firewalls (specifically router firewalls, software firewalls like ZA won't bother it) so that it can run at the best speed it can (obviously limited by your connection and how many people are downloading the same file as you). If you're paranoid about getting traced and want a security blanket (which is probably totally useless anyway, but might do your mind some good) get PeerGuardian.
Finally torrents are a double-edged sword. Popularity means easier distribution. Unlike some file sharing problems, which impose ques for popular files, torrents go faster if more people are sharing the file due to the nature of how it works. This has the disadvantage of making unpopular files difficult or impossible to obtain.
Note that Bit Torrent clients aren't illegal, nor are some torrent files. Only copyrighted material is illegal.
Additionally: Azureus can't "change" your IP. Nothing can change your IP since it's assigned to you by your ISP. Only disconnecting and re-connecting can change your IP, but on Cable connections you might still get the same one, and static-IP connections keep the same IP anyway. You can "disguise" your IP by running through a proxy server, which makes your computer appear to have a different IP, though it really doesn't; you're just routing your connection through somewhere else. If law enforcement agencies really wanted to, they could easily track through the proxy server back to your IP, and your ISP would gladly surrender your information (if the law enforcement agency has permission to go after you) rather than protect you.
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