diff --git a/worker/lyra_worker/adapters/_slskd.py b/worker/lyra_worker/adapters/_slskd.py
index e0f3f1e..6b870fa 100644
--- a/worker/lyra_worker/adapters/_slskd.py
+++ b/worker/lyra_worker/adapters/_slskd.py
@@ -72,14 +72,18 @@ def _keep_matching(responses: list, needle: str) -> list:
 
 def _parse_search_responses(responses: list) -> list[dict]:
     """Turn slskd search responses into album candidates (one per peer+directory), ordered so the
-    peers most likely to deliver quickly come first: a free upload slot, then higher upload speed,
-    then a shorter queue. The pipeline tries candidates in this order, so ranking fast/free peers
-    first (over slow or queued ones) is what makes the Soulseek fall-through actually converge.
-    Pure — no I/O — so it is unit-tested offline."""
+    peers that will FINISH first come first: a free upload slot, then the shortest estimated
+    transfer time (album bytes ÷ the peer's advertised speed), then a shorter queue. Ranking on
+    estimated time — not raw speed — matters because Soulseek FLAC rips of the same album vary
+    ~2x in size (a 24-bit/bloated rip vs a standard CD rip), and Lyra scores them the SAME quality
+    class (the search exposes no bit-depth), so a peer advertising high speed but serving huge
+    files can lose a race — and blow past the download backstop — against a peer with a smaller
+    standard rip. The pipeline tries candidates in this order, so this is what makes the Soulseek
+    fall-through converge on a copy that actually completes. Pure — no I/O — unit-tested offline."""
     scored: list[tuple] = []
     for resp in responses:
         username = resp.get("username", "")
-        has_slot = 1 if resp.get("hasFreeUploadSlot") else 0
+        has_slot = 0 if resp.get("hasFreeUploadSlot") else 1  # 0 sorts first (free slot = starts now)
         speed = int(resp.get("uploadSpeed") or 0)
         queue = int(resp.get("queueLength") or 0)
         by_dir: dict[str, list] = {}
@@ -94,6 +98,10 @@ def _parse_search_responses(responses: list) -> list[dict]:
         for directory, dfiles in by_dir.items():
             if not dfiles:
                 continue
+            # Estimated seconds to pull this album from this peer at its advertised rate. Unknown/
+            # zero speed → a low nominal (1 B/s) so total size still orders those peers last.
+            total_bytes = sum(int(f["size"] or 0) for f in dfiles)
+            est_seconds = total_bytes / (speed if speed > 0 else 1)
             lossless = all(f["ext"] in _LOSSLESS_EXT for f in dfiles)
             dirname = _basename(directory)
             if " - " in dirname:
@@ -111,8 +119,9 @@ def _parse_search_responses(responses: list) -> list[dict]:
                 "format": "FLAC" if lossless else "MP3",
                 "bitrate": None,
             }
-            scored.append((has_slot, speed, -queue, candidate))
-    scored.sort(key=lambda t: (t[0], t[1], t[2]), reverse=True)  # free + fast + short-queue first
+            scored.append((has_slot, est_seconds, queue, candidate))
+    # ascending: free slot first, then shortest estimated transfer, then shortest queue
+    scored.sort(key=lambda t: (t[0], t[1], t[2]))
     return [c for *_rest, c in scored]
 
 
diff --git a/worker/tests/test_slskd_cancel.py b/worker/tests/test_slskd_cancel.py
index 967fa59..c30cc4a 100644
--- a/worker/tests/test_slskd_cancel.py
+++ b/worker/tests/test_slskd_cancel.py
@@ -110,6 +110,21 @@ def test_parse_ranks_free_and_fast_peers_first():
     assert peers == ["fast", "slow", "queued"]  # free+fast first; no-slot peer last despite speed
 
 
+def test_parse_prefers_shorter_transfer_over_raw_speed():
+    # The Hybrid Theory case: a peer advertising higher speed but serving a ~2x-larger rip (24-bit
+    # / bloated FLAC) should lose to a peer with lower speed but a smaller standard rip that
+    # finishes sooner — both are the same quality class to Lyra, so faster-to-finish wins.
+    responses = [
+        {"username": "bloated", "hasFreeUploadSlot": True, "uploadSpeed": 20000, "queueLength": 0,
+         "files": [{"filename": rf"x\LP - Album\{i:02}.flac", "size": 40_000_000} for i in range(12)]},
+        {"username": "lean", "hasFreeUploadSlot": True, "uploadSpeed": 15000, "queueLength": 0,
+         "files": [{"filename": rf"y\LP - Album\{i:02}.flac", "size": 24_000_000} for i in range(12)]},
+    ]
+    # bloated est = 480MB/20000 = 24000s; lean est = 288MB/15000 = 19200s → lean finishes first
+    peers = [json.loads(c["source_ref"])["username"] for c in _parse_search_responses(responses)]
+    assert peers[0] == "lean"
+
+
 def test_eta_seconds_from_measured_rate():
     assert _eta_seconds(1000, 250, 250.0) == 3  # 750 bytes left / 250 B/s
     assert _eta_seconds(1000, 0, 100.0) == 10