My iTunes crashes repeatedly when I try to add MP3 files

My iTunes crashes repeatedly when I try to add MP3 files from folders on my computer. This seems like it should be the simplest feature for the product. Why does this not work? I have spent hours retrying to eventually get files added, but this has been going on for years. I see lots of on-line chat about the same failure, but no real solutions. Does anyone know how to add an mp3 library to iTunes without the misery of constant crashes???