How do i transfer only the songs i want to my ipod nano?

Question

I just got an ipod nano today and have installed iTunes and have charged my nano. Now iTunes seems to be putting songs in an iTunes music folder in my 'my music' folder by itself. I dont want every song from 'my music' to be put in the iTunes folder so how do i stop this and copy them there myself? And also on iTunes when i click on Library it comes up with hunderds of songs. Once my albums have copied i only want those and i dont want the other hundereds of single songs i have that are not part of real albums. So how do i make sure only the albums i want are put on the nano? Finally, how do i move music to the nano or does the fact the albums seem to be appearing in an iTunes music folder by themselves mean those are in my ipod?

Answer 1

Hi Richard, you're great to help out, but the checkbox thing is pretty convoluted, in my opinion.
I recommend using smart playlists to sync to iPod.
Creating a Smart Playlist
You can choose to have a playlist automatically created from specific songs in your library using Smart Playlists. You can create a Smart Playlist that includes only certain types of music, songs with high ratings, or songs that match other criteria. For example, you could create a playlist that's no more than 5 gigabytes (GB) in size, and includes only your highest rated jazz songs.
Choose File > New Smart Playlist.
To have iTunes add songs that match specific criteria, make sure "Match the following condition" is checked, then make your selections from the pop-up menus.
For example, you might want iTunes to only add songs that are by a particular artist, or songs with at least a four-star rating.
To add additional matching criteria, click the Add button.
To make the playlist a specific duration or size, select "Limit to" and make your selections from the pop-up menus.
To include only songs that have a checkmark beside them in your library (and that match your conditions), select "Match only checked songs."
To have iTunes continually modify your Smart Playlist as songs are added to or removed from your library, make sure "Live updating" is selected.
To create your Smart Playlist, click OK, then name the playlist in the Source list.
Any songs in your library that match the settings you chose are added to the playlist. A Smart Playlist icon has a gear icon on it.