Lacking an iPod jack for our home theater system, I was forced to create a compilation of my favorite songs which I can play during my off days whenever I don’t have any new downloaded movies or TV show episodes to watch.

Compiling and burning these CDs brought back memories of the good old days of the portable CD players and the Kazaa generation. Because of Kazaa, I was exposed to the magnificent world of online music downloads through so-called peer-to-peer networks. And also due to this, compilation CDs became very popular.

The making of a good compilation CD for me is an art. First of all, you are using someone else’s poetry to express how you feel, and that is a very delicate thing. So, how do you make a good compilation CD?  Please read on as I walk you through some pointers on doing this:

Start Wisely – The first song needs to be catchy and should hold the promise of what’s likely to come. But don’t start with your best song, because then you are going downhill from here.

Pick Your Tempo – Don’t let Slash’s guitar licks follow a romantic Michael Johnson love song. It’s just wrong and could put the listener off. If you have to change the tempo, choose a song that could act as a bridge.

Too Esoteric – Know your audience. It’s good to introduce the audience to an artist they are unlikely to be familiar with, but don’t go overboard and be self indulgent.

Repeat Artists - Do not repeat songs by the same artist back-to-back. Avoid using the same artist again, but if you have to – space them out well.

Don’t Let It Go On Forever – An mp3 format may let you go on endlessly, but you don’t want to do that. Try to keep it under an hour, or else you run the risk of the songs toward the end of the list never being heard. Weed out the unnecessary songs from the playlist.