Struggling with the iPod and iTunes

Ok, so I know in my last entry I said I was loving my new iPod, well, I still do, but why do some things have to be so difficult? Specifically, sorting out tags, album art, and duplicates.

Duplicates are my worst nightmare right now. The problem is that many of the albums in my collection actually do have duplicates, for example some of my 1980's albums all have the same song like Toni Basil's Mickey. Now its a great song, but I don't need it to be copied into 4 different folders. So do I delete all the duplicates and rename the albums to something new like 'Carl's 1980's Collection' or put up with some albums being shorter than they should be. Why can't I just assign a single track to multiple albums, surely that would be the easiest way. And no, I don't want to set up playlists for situations like these, I like using tags, they allow searching and sorting that you don't get with playlists.

Or how about this, a dance or Techno compilation has the same song, but remixes often feature other DJ's or artists, and every album has them listed differently, and instead of finding these in the duplicate files screen with iTunes as you would expect, they are actually not considered duplicates at all. Pfft, so then I have to scroll through 8,000 tracks to find the duplicates. Why can't iTunes just add an extra function to the duplicate list that also allows a 'similar' setting, so if the artist is the same and track name is similar then stick it into the dusplicates list. Or if the track name is the same, and the artist name shares many characters then put it into the duplicates list. Ooh, and don't get me started on apostrophes! If a track is listed as 'That's why...' it is the same as 'Thats why...', despite what English professors might tell you.

:Remember to breathe: Ok, I'm feeling much better now that I've vented. Hang on, one more gripe, why are the earpods that come with the iPod so crappy, I think I'm going to have to buy a different set. They just don't provide that range of sound that I like. I tried my Philips headphones on the iPod and they work an absolute treat. Full base sounds, good mid-range, a little flat at the top end, but they aren't the world's best headphones, yet even so the difference between them and the earpods is stark.

If anyone else in ipod land has these problems and wanna share your solution, please do, I want this little baby to rock!