The best replacement for wget is curl.

The best alternatives to wget are rated as following:
★★★★★  curl
★★  rsync
★★  httrack
★★  scp
★★  axel
★  fetch
★  apt get
★  yum
★  apt-get
  aria2
  file_get_contents
  mget

Your alternative for wget is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about wget, one probably shouldn't forget about proxy.

Other search terms related to wget and their ratings are:
★★★★★ proxy
★★ wildcards
★ download
★ username and password
★ user agent
downloading
post
rapidshare
You have in mind a companion for wget and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of wget in all years. Click on graph for more.
wget
curl
rsync