iTunes Sucks

The latest interface kinda sucks, but otherwise it does what I need it to do: rips my CDs and puts them on my iPod. I manually manage a separate library with FLACs for use at home.

For the CDs with different artists: you can change the info as you see fit before it gets ripped. It's a pain, but it can be done.

Keith Tanner wrote:

bravenrace wrote:

Javelin wrote: In reply to pres589: I buy all of my music on CD (higher quality, physical backup, no DRM issues, album art, extras, etc). I have all of those CD's downloaded onto my PC. I can play them just fine off of a USB drive or an MP3 player. I can't import 90% of them to SWMBO's iTunes. Apple can blow me.

That is EXACTLY my main problem. And any CD that has more than one artist on it gets split up into individual songs, even though the album name is the same. It sucks big time.

Identify it as a compilation. Voila.

How do you do that? I can't find anywhere where it gives me that option.

slowride wrote: The latest interface kinda sucks, but otherwise it does what I need it to do: rips my CDs and puts them on my iPod. I manually manage a separate library with FLACs for use at home. For the CDs with different artists: you can change the info as you see fit before it gets ripped. It's a pain, but it can be done.

And it doesn't need to be done with Media Player, which is one of many reasons why iTunes sucks. Why, when an album has a name, and it has 10 songs on it by different artists, would it split it up into 10 separate albums. Even if there is a way around it, why would it default to that? Because it sucks.

BoxheadTim wrote:

Javelin wrote: In reply to pres589: I buy all of my music on CD (higher quality, physical backup, no DRM issues, album art, extras, etc). I have all of those CD's downloaded onto my PC. I can play them just fine off of a USB drive or an MP3 player. I can't import 90% of them to SWMBO's iTunes. Apple can blow me.

That's a bit of a surprise, unless you're buying the "fake CDs" that have been sold by the music industry for a while. Like, the ones that don't even have the CD logo on it anymore because they abuse the format so badly in the interest of copy protection that they don't even play in most car CD players. I pretty much buy no file-based digital music, with the exception of a few very obscure albums everything I have is on CDs. The only times I had issues ripping CDs into iTunes was when either the laser lens needed de-dusting or when the CD was badly scratched. Most of my CDs are older though and predate the format shenanigans. Then again, I'm using Apple hardware, that seems to be making a difference in the sense that most people I know who have issues with iTunes are using it on Windows.

Let me clarify my situation. I'm using a PC. My CD's were already ripped into the computer, about 300 of them. I had them in Media Player, because it works better and I didn't have any Apple products. My kids do have iPods, and are very well versed at using iTunes (They say it sucks also, BTW). My son and I tried to import the music from Media Player to iTunes, and that is where we ran into trouble. I apologize if I didn't explain the problem more accurately before.

Sounds like Media Player may be a culprit here.

One thing I have heard to try is to burn a CD, or image, of one of the albums AS MP3 files. (Not music tracks) Then try to import the files from the burned CD. Buring them to a CD "should" strip any DRM funkyiness from them. This is a technique to remove Apple DRM, so I am not sure if it works to other way.

If this works burning files to a DVD or image could do a lot at once.

bravenrace wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote:

bravenrace wrote:

Javelin wrote: In reply to pres589: I buy all of my music on CD (higher quality, physical backup, no DRM issues, album art, extras, etc). I have all of those CD's downloaded onto my PC. I can play them just fine off of a USB drive or an MP3 player. I can't import 90% of them to SWMBO's iTunes. Apple can blow me.

That is EXACTLY my main problem. And any CD that has more than one artist on it gets split up into individual songs, even though the album name is the same. It sucks big time.

Identify it as a compilation. Voila.

How do you do that? I can't find anywhere where it gives me that option.

Select the songs in question. Right-click, view info. One of the options is "Part of a compilation". Done.

Some people like their tracks grouped by artist, not by album. Some prefer the other. The interface designers have to choose one or the other as a default, such is life.

Apple DRM does not prevent you from loading files into iTunes from another source. I've got MP3 files that predate iTunes by years, and they play just fine. I buy music from eMusic, which delivers as DRM-free MP3. However, if you've decided to rip your tunes in some incompatible format that's a different problem. And I suspect it's what you're dealing with.

Figure out what the format is, and if it's not one that iTunes can handle then you will have to transcode it. There is a large selection of software that can do just that in an automated manner, so it's just a matter of letting the computer chew on the files for a couple of hours.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

I have the newest version of iTunes, and there is no "Part of a Compilation" option when I right click on a song.

Right click on the song, choose GET INFO. Trust me, it's there. It's been there for some time as well, you don't need the newest version - I'll bet it was around five years ago or more.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

Then what? I did what you said and still can't find anything past that point that does what I need it to. You gonna just keep piece mealing this info to me?

Look at the Info tab - that one has the checkbox that Keith mentioned.

You can't find "part of a compilation"? It's on the first tab if you've selected one song, down beside the Genre selection drop-down. If you've selected multiple tracks, it'll be on the Options tab.

Select the tracks you want to compile.

Right click

Select Get Info

Click on the Options tab

Change "Part of a compilation" to "yes"

This is based on the Mac interface, but I'm pretty sure my Windows machine works exactly the same way.

Actually on this here Mac with the latest iToons it's on the Info tab, not the Options one .

Javelin wrote:

EastCoastMojo wrote: Which part is giving you trouble?

The ridiculous DRM parts.

You can buy DRM-free MP3 files on Amazon or rip them from a CD with a different program, then get them into an iPod no problem.

BoxheadTim wrote: Actually on this here Mac with the latest iToons it's on the Info tab, not the Options one .

Not if you follow the first instruction - select the tracks you want to compile. For multiple tracks, it's on Options. I mentioned that in my post as well.