how to sort songs by Album artist and song number?

Question

Level 1

0 points

how to sort songs by Album artist and song number?

System: +OS X 10.5 updated to 10.5.2 . iTunes 7.6+

I have a CD "+Cafe Del Mar - Volume 01+". Added songs to Library. Every track has different Artist. So, I have 12 songs with individual Name and Artist. Then have put value "+Volume 01+" as Album in File Info and Album Artist as "+Cafe Del Mar+". This way songs are automatically grouped together whenever I sort my library by Album or Album Artist.

Unfortunately in latter case (sorting by Album Artist) iTunes uses Artist field instead of Song Number within the Album to sort tracks. Here are links to screenshots I made to show what we are talking about here:

Sorting by Album: http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/7783/picture1qj6.jpg
Sorting by Album Artist: http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/4199/picture2uo9.jpg

How can I fix it and make iTunes to sort by Track Number within the same album even if I sort things by Album Artist?

Thanks.

mbp, Mac OS X (10.5)

Posted on Feb 15, 2008 4:51 PM

Reply

Answer 1

jere7my

Level 4

1,815 points

Feb 15, 2008 4:53 PM in response to samvel

If you're sorting by Album Artist, you're telling iTunes not to pay attention to track number — you want some other ordering.

To do what you want, click the Album column header until it says "Album by Artist". This will sort with the hierarchy Album Artist (or Artist if there is none) > Album > Disc # > Track #.

Reply

Answer 2

samvel Author

Level 1

0 points

Feb 15, 2008 5:02 PM in response to jere7my

Thanks, Album by Artist is exactly what I wanted originally. To have disks (albums) to be sorted by Artist originally and then by Disk name, something like:

Artist > Album > Track#

The only thing I am confused about now is a field Album Artist. What is it used for? I have a feeling of improper use 😟.

Reply

Answer 3

Feb 15, 2008 6:32 PM in response to samvel

From MacOSHints:

How to use iTunes 7 new Album Artist field
Mon, Sep 18 '06 at 7:30AM PDT • Submitted by stevebr
iTunes 7 thinks of an album by a performer (call the performer XYZ), where one or more tracks are by "XYZ featuring ABC" or "XYZ and ABC," as separate albums. In the past, the only workaround was to set the album as a compilation to avoid this, but this is an incomplete solution, and it had the side effect of the album not being classified or filed properly.

Enter the "Album Artist" tag in iTunes 7. Set this tag (via Get Info with all all tracks of the album selected) to the main artist's name, and the album will be unified.

Reply