I think, in iTunes, you can right click on the tune and clear/delete. It will ask if you want to clear it or put it in the recycle bin. THis library will update automatically. This is in Windows.

"The" library.

Your Ipod needs this. Assuming you don't already have it.

Also, hey mgl! *hug* *hug*

Try Exact Audio Copy, which has near miraculous ability to rip CDs with scratches that thwart lesser software. Once EAC has pulled .WAV files off the CD, you can pull 'em into iTunes. Or EAC can make mp3s directly, and you can drag those into your iTunes Library.

Also, much whuffles!

Hey, mgl - if you want to remove the scratches from an mp3 or a wav file, get Audacity. Load the song, highlight it and go Effect > Click Removal. Works like a charm, tho be careful that the removal levels aren't set too high or it'll blunt some of the audio. Also, after you've done that, go to Amplify to bring the levels up to just under 1 decibel and that'll help equalise the sound levels across tracks. Maybe Triode's link will do that without all the fiddling around.
Can't help ya with how the ipod works - I didn't get one of those, went for a different type of player.

OK, You asked for a walk-through. Here's what I do on Windows with my own iPod to get skip-free copies of my ratty old CDs. This isn's so much about getting rid of the bad tracks as not getting bad tracks in the first place. (There are other ways too, this is just my way)

Get EAC. Mind you don't grab one of the many banner ads on the site which are trying to fool you into downloading a competing product. (ugh). Get the LAME mp3 encoder. Put the LAME .dll file into the EAC folder under Program Files. Run EAC and configure the compression options to use LAME. Set lame to use "-V2 --vbr-new" and variable bit rate 192. Enable the FreeDB lookups to grab the title & artist data for the CD. Have EAC drop the mp3 files into a folder using the "artist - title" to name the directory. Optionally, use The Godfather and Mp3Tag to set the rest of the music metadata. Once I have my mp3 files, I put them in the folder where I store them permanently. From there, I drag them into iTunes to show iTunes where they are. In iTunes, under Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced, I *deselect* the options "Keep iTunes folder organized" and "Copy files to iTunes music folder when adding to library". The first option moves & renames all the files I've already sorted & renamed, and the second makes dupicate copies of the files that I only want one copy of.

If you have unrippable but irrereplaceable old CDs that you just love, a $25 "SkipDR" repair tools is a mechanical device that will polish out scratches, and EAC will take it from there.

MP3Gain is your tool for making the volume the same across many tracks. (although the defaults that it offers are a wee bit low, IMO) The things I've mentioned are all Windows stuff, btw.

Hey Triode - not sure if you'll know this, but I've got a few CD's suffering from bronzing. Any idea if SkipDR would rip them? They're not totally gone, but no CD player I've got will play them. Reading's ok tho. I'm guessing no, but it's worth a shot...

I've used EAC to rip things that wouldn't even read the table of contents in any other player. Turn up the error correction and let it chew for a few hours... you might get lucky.

EAC/LAME is super-duper awesome. I've gotten good rips on interlibrary-loaned CDs that look like somebody ran 'em over with a truck.

Thanks, y'all. My ipod will soon be even happier.