04-19-2012, 10:33 PM

I have several BILLBOARD CDs that I've ripped to iTunes. As you can see in the screen cap below, they're not in sequenced order in iTunes. The list starts with "1977" then skips to "1989" then skips to 1976... and so on.

When I "Get Info" on the 1977 and 1989 discs, it indicates the data is stored in my "Various Artists" folder on my external hard drive. The 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, etc. are all stored in my "Compilations" folder.

I've moved the 1977 and 1989 discs to the "Compilations" folder, deleted the data from iTunes then turned around and re-added the files back into iTunes using "Add To Library". However, when I do this, it physically moves the actual data files back to the "Various Artists" folder. Consequently, iTunes will still display them in non-sequenced order.

Is there a workaround for this so that I can display these in sequenced order in iTunes?

04-20-2012, 03:12 AM

Firstly, don't move things around in folders yourself. Let iTunes manage that.

The source of your issue is the tag information. It must differ between albums in some way.

Select an entire album and use get Info to view all the tag information. Check one that's OK and one that isn't. I'd suggest the Genre, year of Album Artist data differs between them but it could be something else.

Once you've determined what's different you can change that data in the Get Info screen and iTunes will move the tracks/folders as appropriate. Tat should sort of the sequence for you

04-20-2012, 09:22 AM

Originally Posted by mrplow

Firstly, don't move things around in folders yourself. Let iTunes manage that.

The source of your issue is the tag information. It must differ between albums in some way.

Select an entire album and use get Info to view all the tag information. Check one that's OK and one that isn't. I'd suggest the Genre, year of Album Artist data differs between them but it could be something else.

Once you've determined what's different you can change that data in the Get Info screen and iTunes will move the tracks/folders as appropriate. Tat should sort of the sequence for you

I reviewed "Get Info" on all the albums. There ARE differences.

On the albums that are properly sequenced, the ALBUM ARTIST field is blank. However, on the albums that are improperly sequenced, the ALBUM ARTIST says "Various Artists". Also, on the improperly sequenced albums, the checkbox for PART OF A COMPILATION is not checked whereas the properly sequenced albums are checked.

I selected one of the improperly sequenced albums and removed "Various Artists" from the ALBUM ARTIST field, but iTunes split the album into ten separate albums with one song on each album. I switched it back after that, but the albums are still improperly sequenced.

Then, I went to each song and checked the box for PART OF A COMPILATION. Doing this made no difference.

I could find no difference in the tag information other than what I've stated. I've reviewed all the other tag information fields (e.g., GENRE, ALBUM, GROUPING, etc.) and they are all the same. I've even made sure the album names didn't have any extra spaces in the title or minor punctuation differences.

04-20-2012, 09:27 AM

Set them all to an Album artist of various artist and all to part of a compilation

04-20-2012, 09:49 AM

Originally Posted by mrplow

Set them all to an Album artist of various artist and all to part of a compilation

After experimenting, I set all the albums to PART OF A COMPILATION, but I removed the "Various Artists". That worked! They're now in order! Thanks for helping me on this!!