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My main music storage device is a 80GB iPod Classic and my backup is a 32GB HP thumb drive. They both get music from the same source although via iTunes for the iPod and via Windows File Manager for the thumb drive.
The source folder has no subfolders. All music files in one folder with the following naming scheme: "artist-year-album-track-song.mp3".
Both Microsoft and Apple ignore the "The" (not "The The") so "The Smiths" is sorted as "Smiths" both in filenames and in metadata.
But that's where the similarities end. When the car's system reads the iPod, albums are sorted alphabetically because it's being read via the iPod's operating system. When the car reads the thumb drive, albums appear by release year because it's being read via the FAT32 filename system.
I hope this helps.
NOTES:
- Use MP3Tags to correct errors made by iTunes and add album art.
- Remove "Disc #" from metadata and use continuous numbering as if it came off one giant CD. Example: "The Wall" instead of "The Wall Disc 1" etc.
- Add "(Featured artists)" to the song title, not to the main artist's name. Example: "Walk This Way (Featuring Aerosmith)", not "RUN DMC Featuring Aerosmith" or "RUN DMC/Aerosmith".
- Replace "Various artists" with actual artist. This way you can see all of an artist's songs but still hear a particular song within the context of a compilation or soundtrack album.
- Use "album artist" for DJ compilations so you know who put together the album even when each song was produced by other artists. (This is a tricky subject for many.)
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