◀ BYTE
HOW I FINALLY TOOK CONTROL OF MY ITUNES LIBRARY
F YOU'VE BEEN HOARDING MUSIC FOR YEARS, you know how messy iTunes can get. My external hard drive has over 20,000 tracks—a mix of CDs I ripped ages ago and online purchases. But only a fraction of those tracks ever made it into iTunes, along with some new ones I bought directly from the iTunes Store. And what a mess it all was! Duplicates, weirdly named songs, low-res album covers, messy metadata—opening iTunes felt more like a chore than a joy.
So I decided to do the unthinkable: delete everything in iTunes and start fresh. (Don't worry—my external hard drive stayed untouched.)
Step 1: Delete Everything in iTunes
Yes, I nuked every single track, playlist, and duplicate that had made its way into iTunes. Brutal, but liberating.
Then I selectively reinstalled only the artists and albums I actually missed listening to. Not everything I own—just the stuff that still matters to me. At least for now.
Step 2: Duplicates, Be Gone
With a fresh library, it was finally time to deal with duplicates. Many songs existed in both MP3 and M4A formats. I decided to keep the M4As—better quality, smaller files —and ditch the redundant MP3s. Browsing my library became faster, cleaner, and less confusing.
Step 3: Naming and Genre Overhaul
Next up: metadata. I standardized everything:
- Proper title capitalization (fixing messy prepositions and random capitalization)
- Consistent artist and album names
- Complete, organized genre tags
It was tedious, but now searching or browsing makes sense—no more "Track 01" disasters or mystery albums.
Step 4: Album Art That Doesn't Hurt Your Eyes
Scrolling through iTunes used to be visually painful—low-res, blurry covers everywhere. I replaced them with high-res versions whenever possible.
For albums with no hi-res art, I got creative and designed a few myself. Now my library looks as good as it sounds.
Created this album cover for the entire compilation.
Designed this cover art for the Lover remix by Swift and Mendes.
Made an alternate cover art for the original one that I didn't like so much.
Designed an album cover for the mix-tape my friend created for me many years ago.
Rebuilding my library meant rediscovering tracks I'd forgotten—but also realizing some were gone. Some purchases, like the entire Moon Music album by Coldplay, disappeared after I switched to my iPhone 17 Pro Max. I assumed iTunes would still have them locally if I hadn't copied them to my external drive—nope.
It was frustrating, but it reminded me to focus on the music I can control. My iTunes library is now smaller, curated, and intentional—even if my full external collection is still massive.
Step 6: A Library That Grows With Me
'm not done yet—and honestly, I never will be. I add a little every day, rediscovering forgotten tracks, reinstalling new favorites, and fixing metadata or album art along the way.
It's become less about perfection and more about creating a library that actually reflects what I enjoy listening to right now. Every time I open iTunes, I find something I didn't expect, and that makes the effort feel worthwhile.
The Result
Now my iTunes library:
- Is clean, curated, and easy to navigate
- Has duplicates removed and redundant MP3s replaced with M4As
- Uses standardized naming and complete genre tags
- Features crisp, hi-res album art, including some I designed myself
Even though iTunes only contains a fraction of my 20,000+ track collection, every time I open it, it's a joy to browse.
Lessons Learned
- Don't be afraid to start fresh if your library is a mess.
- Only keep what you actually listen to—the rest just clutters things.
- Clean up duplicates and pick the best-quality files.
- Metadata matters. Proper titles, artists, and genres save headaches.
- Album art isn't just decoration—it makes your library feel alive.
- Back up your purchases before switching devices —some tracks might disappear unexpectedly.
- Your library is never "finished." Add, tweak, and grow it over time.
Starting over in iTunes was a little scary, but it made me fall back in love with my music collection. And that, honestly, is priceless. —A. Jidnam, Groove Gimmandi
Created this album cover for the entire compilation.
Designed this cover art for the Lover remix by Swift and Mendes.
Made an alternate cover art for the original one that I didn't like so much.