I feel like I have been doing the same three-step process (to show my music in a list sorted by date added, newest first) for a long time - since I've had Vista. No matter how I alter the view, once I close iTunes and relaunch it, the default grid view is displayed.
Okay, I just doublechecked again, with your precise view desires set up, and my iTunes relaunched in list view, sorted on date added, most recent items first.
If it's been doing this to you for a number of versions, what springs to mind is that you've got some subtle damage to an iTunes preference file, which is causing iTunes to "forget" how it was set up to view things every time iTunes shuts down. (Since a preference file usually isn't touched by an iTunes version update, a subtle problem with pref files can persist for several versions of iTunes.)
Still, before checking on that we'd better check to see if this is a user-account-specific issue for you. (If this happens to you in
multiple different user accounts on the PC, it's unlikely to be a pref file problem, since each different user account has its own set of preference files.)
From the Start menu, choose Control Panel.
Open "Add or remove user accounts" (If using the Classic View in Windows Vista, open "User Accounts". Then open "Manage another account").
Select "Create a new account" and follow the instructions to complete the account setup process.
Once the new account is created, choose Log Off from the Start menu.
Log into the newly created user account.
Launch iTunes. Eventually it will open to a blank library. (Don't be alarmed, your existing content is in the other user account.)
Import a CD into the blank iTunes (or otherwise add some content there).
Now, arrange your view as you desire ... and then quit and relaunch iTunes in the new user account. Did your view "stick" in the new user account?
