iTunes Sync Music problem -- how to sync playlists ONLY

I recently purchased an iPhone 11 Pro, which replaced an iPhone 7. iTunes version is 12.8.2.

I have a large iTunes library. I only want to add a few playlists to my phone using the Sync Music, "Selected playlists, artists, albums, and genres" option. This worked fine on my iPhone 7.

On the new device, in addition to the selected Playlists, iTunes insists on syncing Albums. The albums are "auto-selected" -- meaning I did not click any of them, however they have a checkmark in the selection box.

If I uncheck a box, it is then rechecked again when I begin a new sync process.

This one has me baffled -- what am I missing?