If you just want to download MP3s, try using an MP3 search engine before using a file sharing program. This isn't true if you use top of the line search engines. Also, you need not worry about ratios, passwords, and FTP clients. All you need is a browser. The problem is, many HTTP search engines are not reliable either.
Sites come online and go offline very quickly, and therefore there are a lot of dead links.
This is a big reason why MP3 search engines are not as popular as file sharing services. If you click on a broken link, the system will remove it in a day or two. Many people download a song and find that the song is only a clip. AudioPhilEZ will display the song's play time, which is pretty cool. It claims to have few dead links, although it doesn't say how.