Hello baldy1m,
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. We understand that you have questions regarding your sort options in Music on your Mac.
Check out this article, are these the same steps that you're attempting?
Find a song with the column browser in Music on Mac
"Your music can be sorted by up to five categories (Genres, Artists, Albums, Composers, and Groupings), divided into columns. As you select an item in each column, the list narrows down to display only the matching songs.
For example, to find only pop music by a certain artist, you could select Pop in the Genres column, then the artist’s name in the Artists column.
- In the Music app on your Mac, click Songs in the sidebar on the left.
- Choose View > Column Browser > Show Column Browser, then choose the columns you want to display.
- You can’t change the order of the columns.
- In the column browser, select options in one or more columns.
- As you select options, songs that match your criteria are displayed below."
The following article will help with sorting and playback options.
Play songs in a specific order in Music on Mac
Best regards.