Where to place JavaScript in an HTML file?

Question

Say I have a fairly hefty JavaScript file, packed down to roughly 100kb or so. By file I mean it’s an external file that would be linked in via

Answer 1

The Yahoo! Exceptional Performance team recommend placing scripts at the bottom of your page because of the way browsers download components.

Of course Levi's comment "just before you need it and no sooner" is really the correct answer, i.e. "it depends".