# Album Matching Issues **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussions\ **Tags:** library-management\ **Created:** [February 12, 2021, 1:41pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649 "2021-02-12T13:41:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SanchezHouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@SanchezHouse](https://forums.plex.tv/u/SanchezHouse)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 1:41pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/1 "2021-02-12T13:41:34Z")
Currently, I have two Michael Jackson albums called Thriller and Thriller 25. In my Plex library, they are properly tagged and the folder and file structure are as follows: Michael Jackson/Thriller (1982)/05 - Thriller.mp3 Michael Jackson/Thriller 25 (2008)/01 - Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.mp3 My question: Why is Plex grouping all my tracks in this album under Thriller (1982) and not separating Thriller 25 (2008) and Thriller (1982)? It will do this with other albums with similar traits where the matching is a concern. Currently, I can’t see a way to fix a match by separating the tracks as it’s grouped altogether. If the tracks are properly tagged and have their own folder and structure, why would Plex match these tracks together? It doesn’t make sense especially when I have the option for respecting embedding tags. I can include snapshots if you’d like or logs. Feedback on fixing this issue would be great. ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 1:50pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/2 "2021-02-12T13:50:31Z")
What content is in the ‘Album Title’ meta tags of the files of the album “Thriller 25”? ---
**Author:** ![SanchezHouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@SanchezHouse](https://forums.plex.tv/u/SanchezHouse)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 9:02pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/4 "2021-02-12T21:02:32Z")
Under the album title, it’s “Thriller 25”. Why is Plex confusing the two albums? Any thoughts? I use MusicBrainz and mp3tag for all my music now. The structure is in Plex format. ---
**Author:** ![SanchezHouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@SanchezHouse](https://forums.plex.tv/u/SanchezHouse)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 11:43am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/5 "2021-02-18T11:43:25Z")
It’s almost a week since I asked for any feedback on this problem. I guess it’s a server issue that has not been resolved. The tags are correct yet it can’t tell the difference between certain albums. I had some good success with Weezer albums where their albums are called Weezer (1994) or Weezer (2018). I had to change Weezer (2018) to Weezer (Teal Album) (2018) to make sure Plex doesn’t group into one album. My question is this a server problem and not matching and respecting tags even as it’s set to that setting or my end with what naming scheme I’m suppose to use? ---
**Author:** ![Noah0504](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/noah0504/32/92422_2.png) [@Noah0504](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Noah0504)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 12:00pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/6 "2021-02-18T12:00:59Z")
_Thriller 25_ is its own release on MusicBrainz, which is good. Are you able to remove both albums and add them back one at a time? Maybe start with _Thriller 25_ and then just _Thriller_? Also, maybe check for sure that _Thriller 25_ is being matched as such before adding the other album. ---
**Author:** ![SanchezHouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@SanchezHouse](https://forums.plex.tv/u/SanchezHouse)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 12:51am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/7 "2021-02-19T00:51:45Z")
> [@Noah0504](#): > > _Thriller 25_ is its own release on MusicBrainz, which is good. Are you able to remove both albums and add them back one at a time? Maybe start with _Thriller 25_ and then just _Thriller_ ? Also, maybe check for sure that _Thriller 25_ is being matched as such before adding the other album. Yeah, I tried that first to see and it was fine when I added only _Thriller 25_ Once I added _Thriller_, it combined that. It’s so weird. ---
**Author:** ![enduser](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/enduser/32/3723_2.png) [@enduser](https://forums.plex.tv/u/enduser)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/8 "2021-02-19T01:22:17Z")
I have Thriller 25 matched on my server, but I do not have the original. I had a similar issue matching Pearl Jam Ten Redux and Ten. This is what I did to get it to match. 1. Unmatch the albums, 2. Move music out of the folder where it scans. 3. Clean bundles and optimize database. 4. Add the Thriller 25 first, if it doesn’t match correctly try the fix match to Thriller 25. 5. Once it matches, then add the original album. Good Luck. ---
**Author:** ![SanchezHouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@SanchezHouse](https://forums.plex.tv/u/SanchezHouse)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2021, 12:55am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/9 "2021-02-20T00:55:59Z")
Thank you for the suggestion, but it didn’t work. As it turns out, when I did a search using the Plex Music agent, all the results for Thriller 25 are Thriller 25 - 1982, not of 2008 which is sad. I wish they could include options for both Gracenote and Musicbrainz to fill in the gaps in metadata because it does not make sense to have something that does not work all the time to match albums correctly. ---
**Author:** ![enduser](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/enduser/32/3723_2.png) [@enduser](https://forums.plex.tv/u/enduser)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2021, 2:14am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/10 "2021-02-20T02:14:31Z")
My Pearl Jam Redux shows 1991 and my Thriller 25 shows 1982, but both match the complete expanded album. You can always edit the date manually. ---
**Author:** ![SanchezHouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@SanchezHouse](https://forums.plex.tv/u/SanchezHouse)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 12:48pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/11 "2021-02-22T12:48:15Z")
I could always do that but how do I separate the tracks from the 1982 and 2008 albums? ---
**Author:** ![Ryuzaki\_2](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ryuzaki_2/32/211321_2.png) [@Ryuzaki\_2](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Ryuzaki_2)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/12 "2021-02-22T15:21:08Z")
In picard. Check the Date field and then the original release date and original year dates fields. Sometimes I find that if you adjust those it helps. ---
**Author:** ![enduser](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/enduser/32/3723_2.png) [@enduser](https://forums.plex.tv/u/enduser)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 4:08pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/13 "2021-02-22T16:08:20Z")
The latest update seems to only allow the Plex Music agent to be the only source. I don’t know if this is a bug or the way moving forward. I noticed Movies can only use the Plex Movie Agent, but TV show agent has options. ---
**Author:** ![SanchezHouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@SanchezHouse](https://forums.plex.tv/u/SanchezHouse)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 4:43pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/14 "2021-02-22T16:43:54Z")
I understand. It’s a huge disappointment because although it can be used is freely user-based. Gracenote was awesome because it had a backing of a company and it was working with the labels to send data about tracks to them. If they could bring it back with AllMusic and Discogs, that would be great. ---
**Author:** ![SanchezHouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@SanchezHouse](https://forums.plex.tv/u/SanchezHouse)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/15 "2021-02-22T16:53:03Z")
Thank you for the suggestion, it didn’t work. It’s a bug with Plex adding music. ---
**Author:** ![enduser](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/enduser/32/3723_2.png) [@enduser](https://forums.plex.tv/u/enduser)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2021, 5:42pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/16 "2021-02-22T17:42:52Z")
Maybe try In the Server settings, at the “Manage \> Library” level, try enabling the “Prefer local metadata” in the advanced tab of your music library to see if that does the trick. ---
**Author:** ![SanchezHouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@SanchezHouse](https://forums.plex.tv/u/SanchezHouse)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 12:52pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/17 "2021-02-23T12:52:35Z")
I tried this and it’s still an issue. For some albums it’s respecting the local metadata but for some like this one album it isn’t. There could be more but I’ve noticed this one. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2021, 12:52pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/album-matching-issues/689649/18 "2021-05-24T12:52:46Z")
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