I went looking for how to install iTunes recently without the bloat (because I remember seeing an article about doing just that a while back), and though I found the article, it had apparently moved from its original location. As such, I'm going to note down the steps here in case said article ever disappears. The following is intended for use on a Windows 7 64-bit system, but I think these steps should work in general. It's also intended for using an iPod classic, which is the only Apple device I care to use (though these instructions also work with the nano, mini, and shuffle variants).
- Download the iTunes installer
- Unpack the installer using something like IZArc
- Run the installers, using the given commands, in the following order:
- AppleApplicationSupport.msi /passive
- Quicktime.msi /passive (if this installer is present)
- iTunes64.msi /passive