What I did was just to load all the mp3 files I wanted on a micro sd card. Once in the player it plays. It is sequential so you can only skip foreward and back by one track at a time. Since I put what I wanted on the card i haven't as yet needed to search for a particular song I'd rather hear. I simply start the unit playing and let it go as I go about chores etc. The unit plays plenty loud as well so I can hear it if I go into an adjoining room. I am running it pretty hard right now to see about battery life. Good sounding unit especially for its size. Dale Hayes