And NOW what are you listening to?

I use Windows Media Player 11, because it came with my PC, and it does eveything I need, but other players are probably as good, or better:

1. I give every track a "star" rating, from 1 to 5. I'd rather not listen to the 1* tracks but everything else is at least OK. I use 1* to mean "Well, at least it's music", to distinguish music tracks from audio books.
2. I created an "Auto" playlist. The ingredients are:
• All the 5* tracks not played today
• All the >=4* tracks not played in the last 7 days, so duplicating the 5*
• All the >=3* tracks not played in the last 7 days,  so duplicating the 4*, and triplicating the 5*
• All the >=2* tracks not played in the last 7 days, you get the idea by now.
• Anything >= 2* not played in the last 6 months; rake up old stuff.
• Randomise the list, to keep me guessing

The upshot of all this is that I don't have a clue what's coming next, but it is nearly always a pleasure. I get my favourite tracks more often, but I also get stuff I've not heard in months. If I hit a track that doesn't match my mood (Like the Westlife that just started) then I can always skip it. 

I rarely reduce the rating of a track, but I find that some tracks grow on me, so get promoted.

Phew! I'm on to Gordon Giltrap.