Do you need it in order to sync with a Crapple SpyPhone? If not, delete it, install a real music player like MediaMonkey. There are plenty of um ... alternative ... download services.

iTunes on Windows has always been a slow, sub-par, buggy pain in the gluteus. Gee, wonder why -- maybe Apple wants people to buy THEIR hardware

Edit: haha, cmbdiesel said it first, and more politely than I did!