I have a problem. I want it all, and I want it now. I have an iTunes library with over 80 gigabytes of music, videos, podcasts, movies, and TV shows (and a few PDF files). As you may know, there is no iPod with enough capacity to accommodate my library in its entirety. What to do? Well, I thought a great solution would be to “fork” my library and create a smaller more portable library that I could then sync in it to my iPod without worrying about not having a certain piece of media when I needed it.

It worked fine for a few months until I started wanting to listen to the tracks that were effectively put in suspended animation in the main library. So, last weekend I made the decision to re-consolidate my libraries into one main library. Great.. now I have consistency, but I’m back to square one — can’t fit my stuff on my iPod… not to mention my somewhat space challenged iPhone.

For now, my solution is to get even more intimate with the Smart Playlist feature in iTunes. Essentially, Smart Playlists allow you to define rules and parameters that govern what is included in the list. This way I can essentially “data-mine” my library and have it populate my Playlists with genre-based fresh music, un-listened to podcasts, and un-watched movies. I always have the freshest media on my devices, and I shift the work of creating compelling playlists over to the Mac. And I’m constantly hearing music that I had no idea I owned.

Christopher Breen has published an excellent article containing tons of tips and tricks for creating your own brilliantly smart playlists. Once you spend a little time in advance defining what parameters you want your Smart Playlist to be built with, the Mac does an amazing job of dee-jaying your iPod.