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I find the downloading without payment of commercially available product disrespectful in the extreme to the artists concerned. When I say this, I'm referring to those who download for free when they could go to a store and buy the product. It's a different story if something is downloaded, listened to once to see what it's like before buying, and then deleted.
I appreciate that the music distribution system means that there are parts of the world where getting stuff from a store is damn near impossible, and I'd never condemn someone in that situation for downloading, but that's my only my exception. The "I can't afford to buy CDs" argument cuts no ice with me - are you going to steal a car when you can't afford to buy one of them?
If a band makes something available for free download themselves, well obviously that's different.
Personally, I don't want to download because I want the whole package, e.g. artwork, liner notes, etc.
As for bootlegs, well I guess I'd rather they got downloaded for free rather than some drugs cartel get cash out of someone buying them.
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