New to VPNs and how they function. How good is NordVPN and is there a better alternative?

As the title states. This will be my first time to have any sort of VPN. I've stopped torrenting completely after receiving a few letters from my IP. I've got a long list of films that I want to torrent, and so I have decided to get a VPN. But, I want to make sure that what little money that I do have goes a long, long way for me! Since this will be my first time with using a VPN, I would also like something that's0 user-friendly, but this is second to the primary reason: security and privacy. I'm not sure if this is pertinent or not, but I am an American.