[Joeltx]

I switched from an iPod to USB stick and am not thrilled but am happy enough that its not causing me to obsess over it any more

Benefits of usb over ipod
- No longer have to navigate to the currently playing view every time you start the car. That alone makes it worth it (potentially switching to an iPod touch will fix this)
- additional "browse" menu makes navigating to songs much easier - assuming you set up your folders in a reasonable way
- iDrive interface seems faster.

Disadvantages of usb compared to ipod
- more painful to manage. No syncing, playlist creation is trouble-prone
- cant play protected itunes music store files
- no on the fly playlists - I miss Genius playlist creation.

So I swapped things that annoy me daily for things that annoy me weekly.

What still sucks about both options
- Browsing for songs is still way worse than even the original ipod.... This searching stuff is terrible. Not showing artist information in song view means you have no idea which song you are really looking at, etc... My co-pilots go mad and curse the car. It becomes tolerable with the usb drive but only if you set up the folders right.
- can't take advantage of ipod features unless you unplug the ipod or go to aux mode (killing the idrive interface)

So I'm at peace with it but not yet truly happy..... Its moved the focus of my ire back to the "sport mode" button :-)

[mith]

I store my music in different folders on a usb stick.
The only way I have found to display Artist Name is by using the Search field on usb, then choose Search folder, choose the desired folder.
You should now see all songs displayed sorted by 'Artist Name - Song Name'
When you want to change the song, choose the desired song which will now display album art on the screen then press the 'back' button to go back to the 'Artist Name - Song Name' view.
Hope that helps, its not perfect but it does make life easier, just remember to use the back button once you choose your song. However the HUD will still display music by Song Name only.