MP3 Organization FAQ v1.0
updated 3/16/2003 firmware 1.2.1
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  1. What to Consider
  2. Should I use ID3s, Directorys, or Both?
  3. What directory structure should I use?

What to Consider

The main things to consider are:

How much effort are you willing to put in? Orgainizing your MP3s can be a big task - particularly if you have a lot (>1000). Some people just don't care as much as others.
Are going to be ripping your CDs or organizing downloads? If you are ripping CDs primarilly, it is very useful to decide on your organization scheme BEFORE you start ripping. That way you can setup your ripping software to take care of most of the initial organization. WIthout the Ripper's help you'll have to do a lot more work.
How do you most-often think about finding a song? How do you like playing songs?

"I want to listen to this song by this artist."
"I want to listen to the song named xxx."
"I want to listen to all songs by this artist."
"I want to listen to all songs in the Genere."
"I prefer to setup my own playlists of songs I like."

How many songs do you have?

I currently have about 12,000 mp3s. That's a lot! So, I have taken great pains to have a well organized collection. Putting all MP3s in one directory just isn't an option. I have about 1500 directories (folders) to organize all those songs. That means I have about 10 mp3s per directory - an album.

If you have only 100 songs, then putting them all in one directory may be acceptable. Personally, I don't like to have to scroll through a diretory to find things - more than 10-20 mp3s in a directory is too much.

Will you be sharing your collection with anyone? My collection is essentially a shared collection with friends and family. For that reason I need to organize my collection such that it is useful for all. I can't have "Shane's Cool Songs", "Shane's Classical Favorates", "Shane's Dance." etc...
   

What directory structure should I use?

Directory structures and File naming

  1. All in one directory
  2. Genre\Artist\Album\Song.mp3
  3. Artist\Album\Song.mp3