# Music File Folder Organization **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 8, 2015, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-file-folder-organization/739853 "2015-12-08T21:24:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-file-folder-organization/739853/1 "2015-12-08T21:24:32Z")
How would (or what do you think is correct) organize these bands in a library? The Beatles, The Carpenters, The Temptations, The Band, The Animals and The Time? I’m using the below structure but it looks weird. This only for my own PC. Animals, The Beatles, The Carpenters, The Temptations, The The Band The Time My probably faulty reasoning is The Band and The Time, the The is part of the name. If you understand my meaning? ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-file-folder-organization/739853/2 "2015-12-09T15:04:19Z")
I started ripping my CDs to my PC over ten years or so ago, when I bought my first MP3 player. Not an iPod, too expensive, but a Creative one with a 40GB hard disk. I just ripped them into a Music folder, with each album title having its own sub-folder. I also soon learned the benefits of using a CD ripping program that would also write MP3 tag info to each track. The iPod-like MP3 player’s software would then scan my hard drive music library and sort it however I wanted based on the MP3 tag info (Artist, Title, Genre, Song etc.) I think you’ll find that this is how the vast majority of people’s computer music libraries are. Even if you only listen to your music on the PC itself track cataloging software (like iTunes etc.) is still the easiest way to organize it for playing. For what it’s worth, if an album title begins with the word ‘The’ then that’s the name of the folder it’s in (Guns 'n Roses _The Spaghetti Incident_ is listed exactly as that.) ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-file-folder-organization/739853/3 "2015-12-10T03:17:36Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > My probably faulty reasoning is The Band and The Time, the The is part of the name. If you understand my meaning? I think the “the” is not properly more privileged there than in the others. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-file-folder-organization/739853/4 "2015-12-10T04:25:29Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > How would (or what do you think is correct) organize these bands in a library? > > The Beatles, The Carpenters, The Temptations, The Band, The Animals and The Time? I’m using the below structure but it looks weird. This only for my own PC. > > Animals, The > Beatles, The > Carpenters, The > Temptations, The > The Band > The Time > > My probably faulty reasoning is The Band and The Time, the The is part of the name. If you understand my meaning? I’m with you. The only "The"s I respect are the who and the band, maybe one more. It’s got to make sense in my mind so I remember it without looking first. I can’t say “Who” or “Band” ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-file-folder-organization/739853/5 "2015-12-10T13:20:22Z")
Just drop “The”. It’s completely unnecessary\* Go library style and drop a, an, and the. \*Unless you have music by The The. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-file-folder-organization/739853/6 "2015-12-10T16:14:21Z")
I just list them as “The Animals” and “The Beatles” and live with the sorting. It’s not that hard to find what you want either way.