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Topic: iTunes displays some songs in the wrong order (Read 16137 times) previous topic - next topic
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iTunes displays some songs in the wrong order

Please forgive me if this is something that has been discussed before. I have searched other message forums and, while my problem does not seem to me isolated to just me, I have not found a solution that works.

For some reason, some downloaded tracks will not display in the sequence I wish them to. This does not seem to occur with MP3 files . . . only the propitiatory iTunes format. I have one file that I have assigned as "Track 1," but it insists on being played after a file which I have assigned as "Track 6."

I have a few "orphan" tracks (single downloads) that I have not assigned a track tag; the desire being that I want them in alphabetical order. One song title beginning with the letter "H" insists on being before a song beginning with the letter "C."

This is really annoying me. I have even gone so far as to use a tagging application (Tag & Rename) to delete all the tags and re-enter them manually. This does not help. I have ensured that the "Artist" and "Album Artist" tags match. Again, no help.

I can toggle how tracks are sorted via iTunes (Album, Album by Artist, Album by Year). But this does not have an effect on the iPod itself.

The only thing that I can think of is that there is some tag information that cannot be edited. I know that when I click on "Get Info" > "Summary" there is some copyright information. The new single from Maroon 5, "Makes Me Wonder" has the following information: "(p) 2007 OctoScope Music, LLC." My hunch is that downloaded tracks are automatically sorted by copyright date first. A song with an earlier copyright date will come before tracks with later copyright dates regardless of what other tag information might have been assigned.

If this is the case, is there a way to stop this from happening? And if this is not the case, what else can I try?

iTunes displays some songs in the wrong order

Reply #1 –
If you choose "View options" from the view menu you'll be able to tick "Track Number" and then you'll be able to sort your list by track number. You may have to get info on the files to check that the associated metadata is indeed present.

iTunes displays some songs in the wrong order

Reply #2 –
Thanks for the response.

Perhaps I should have emphasized that it is the iPod that is giving me the problems. I know how to sort how tracks displayed in the iTunes library. But when I transfer the files to the iPod, it won't preserve the desired track sequence.

Addendum: On another message board, someone mentioned having this same problem since updating to iTunes 7. I am really at the end of my rope. I can sort the songs in any fashion I want in my iPod's music library as shown on my computer. But when I go to listen to them on the device itself, they are completely out of order.

Just this morning I downloaded an album, and track #8 insists on being played first . . . before track #1. The only difference between the two songs is the copyright info in the Get Info > Summary.

Anyone else having this problem? It really annoys me because I'm anal retentive about my song order. If anyone has a solution it'd be greatly appreciated.

Perhaps this message might be better suited for the "Audio Hardware" section.

iTunes displays some songs in the wrong order

Reply #3 –
Hi EagleScout,

I have the same issue, and think I know where it comes from.

For example, I bought Linkin Park's "What I've Done" single a few weeks ago.  This past Tuesday I bought more tracks of the newly released album (Minutes to Midnight).  I edited all tags to ensure they match perfectly, and to make "What I've Done" fit in neatly to this partial album as Track 6.  Unfortunately Track 6 now comes at the *end* of the album.  This would not normally happen, and does not happen with MP3 files. 

My Linkin Park tracks all have the same copyright information embeded into the m4p file, so I suspect thats not the problem.  I HIGHLY suspect its some other hidden unique code that allows the newly introduced functionality/enhancement of "Complete this Album" to work.  For some reason its not just relying on an individuals account/purchase history, but all puts something in your files to manage related albums.

What do you think?

If I come upon a solution, I will post.

Frank

iTunes displays some songs in the wrong order

Reply #4 –
Hello. For me this problem occurs when the Artist section and the Album Artist section are out of sync. Making sure the artist name was the same for both was what fixed the problem for me.

iTunes displays some songs in the wrong order

Reply #5 –
Quote from: hydrogenfrank on
I HIGHLY suspect its some other hidden unique code that allows the newly introduced functionality/enhancement of "Complete this Album" to work.  For some reason its not just relying on an individuals account/purchase history, but all puts something in your files to manage related albums.


But "Complete this Album" works for songs that were purchased before the feature was introduced, right?  If so, then I doubt there is some sort of hidden code in the tracks that causes this problem.

iTunes displays some songs in the wrong order

Reply #6 –
I've just had this problem with Newton Faulkner's album. It was really getting on my tits but I eventually sorted it out. Make sure that the Disc Number is either clear or matched for all tracks.

So all tracks either display nothing or Disc Number 1 of 1, otherwise ones that have this info entered will be sorted first.

iTunes displays some songs in the wrong order

Reply #7 –
I have had this problem, but changing the disk no.'s did not work for me, instead i've found another solution:
  • Highlight the whole album
  • Right click
  • Select 'Create AAC Version'
  • Wait for it to create extra files
  • Delete all the AAC files (easiest if you order the album by bit rate first)
  • DONE

Im not too certain why this works, or why the problem occurs in the first place! I just discovered this way works whilst clicking every option available!

iTunes displays some songs in the wrong order

Reply #8 –
No. Degrading the audio by pointlessly transcoding is very inadvisable--and is always a bad suggestion, especially for a first post.

Since this has been bumped, I'll offer an anecdote. I don't recall experiencing the issue of incorrect track ordering, but sometimes iTunes will inexplicably display files (not necessarily m4p) from one album as multiple albums--after I edit their metadata, IIRC. I get around this by (e.g.) changing the artist to something different and back again. Perhaps that might also work for track order; I don't know.

iTunes displays some songs in the wrong order

Reply #9 –
I think he was suggesting converting to AAC files, then deleting those new AAC files, not the originals. At least I think that's what he meant.

iTunes displays some songs in the wrong order

Reply #10 –
Maybe, but it's hard to not be confused when the post says "Delete all the AAC files"! Perhaps that means adibrad didn't read that this issue only occurs on iTS-sourced AAC files.

iTunes displays some songs in the wrong order

Reply #11 –
In my experience, if the album names are identical and the "Part of a compilation" flag is set, iTunes will order the files by track number and generally keep them together.  If "Part of a compilation" is not set, it tends to use both album name and artist name as a key before sorting by track number.

iTunes displays some songs in the wrong order

Reply #12 –
Ah, I hadn't noticed (and the title and post #1 don't make it very clear) that the problem is apparently experienced not in iTunes but on the iPod, as per post #3. In that case, I haven't had this experience and thus cannot make any relevant suggestions.

That said, this . . .
Quote from: EagleScout1998 on
I have a few "orphan" tracks (single downloads) that I have not assigned a track tag; the desire being that I want them in alphabetical order. One song title beginning with the letter "H" insists on being before a song beginning with the letter "C."
. . . is the opposite behaviour to that which I experienced, if I remember correctly.  That is to say: tracks without their track-number field filled were displayed in some arbitrary order within iTunes but in alphabetical order on the iPod.