How can I get my Recently Added back to how it was before I reset? Also, is there any way to sort a playlist by the numbering (i.e. 1, 2, 3)?

Question

Basically, I reset my computer (not rebooted; reset, as in wiped it clean) and backed up all my music. After putting the songs back onto my iPhone, the playlists like My Top Rated and Recently Played were empty, of course. For Recently Added, all of my songs were in there. I imported my playlists and most were back to normal. However, the first 13 songs in my Recently Added were the same as before I reset my computer, which I found really odd, so I figured that they were sorted somehow for that to happen--they had to be. The rest of the songs were all of my other songs.
Anyways, I can't find a way to get my Recently Added to just have those 13 songs and it's really irritating me. Is there a way??? Yes, I've tried limiting to 13 items. I've also tried sorting by name, and the "most recently/least recently added" options didn't work either. How can I sort it by numbering, as in the actual numbers next to the Artist name???
Also, notice how the first 13 songs are sorted by Name and after those songs, the rest are sorted by Artist Name. So, I'm thinking this issue is fixable. It's peeving me!

Answer 1

lil9lovely3 wrote:
For Recently Added, all of my songs were in there. I imported my playlists and most were back to normal. However, the first 13 songs in my Recently Added were the same as before I reset my computer, which I found really odd, so I figured that they were sorted somehow for that to happen--they had to be. The rest of the songs were all of my other songs.
A smart playlist like "Recently Added" is based on the date that a track is added to your library.  Since you erased your computer and re-built your library from scratch, all your tracks are considered "recently added" because iTunes assigned a new date to each song as it was re-added to your library.
Instead of re-building your library from scratch, and re-importing certain playlists you had saved, it might've been better to have simply recovered your "iTunes Library.itl" file.  That is the index that points to where all your song files are, and contains all your playlists, and has properties such as ratings, last played date, and date added.  As long as the native files for your songs are in the same place, you could re-use your "iTunes Library.itl" file if you saved a copy before you erased your computer (always back that file up along with your native files, the .itl file IS your library).
As far as why the Recently Added playlist starts with 13 particular songs, then proceeds with the rest of all your songs in alphabetic order, it is possible that either you (or iTunes) started adding the songs back with the 13 most recent songs you had previously added to your library before it was erased, and once those were added then things proceeded by artist in alphabetical order.  Not sure, but there's really nothing you can do about that other than replace your .itl file with the original version if you still have it somewhere.