Selby George wrote:
It seems ridiculous to me that these sophisticated script changes are the most effective way to deal with this issue...
Me too, but since iTunes isn't going to automatically retag my media exactly the way I want it or the way that works best with iTunes, or some acceptable compromise, I found myself first having to work out exactly what the rules were, and then writing scripts to make it easier to make multiple changes.
If you want to try the first approach you can use a smart playlist with the rules Album Artist is not <empty box> and Media Kind is MPEG Audio File to focus only on the tracks that might need fixing.
iTunes has used Album Artist as a key sorting/grouping field for over seven years. The iPod classic still hasn't caught up. 😮
If you go to the Songs view and enable the column browser with View > Column Browser > Show Column Browser there is an option under View > Column Broswer > Use Album Artists. Turning this off (if it is on) may work better for you. (This option has effects in other views so I've no idea why it isn't more accessible).
See also my article on Grouping tracks into albums for more information.
tt2