One of the advantages of having your CD library all ripped to a digital library is playing with cool toys like The Filter.

It works with Windows Media Player to analyze your library and create automatic playlists based on selected songs. (There are also Mac/iTunes and Nokia versions.) You launch The Filter, highlight a song or two you like in Windows Media Player, send them to The Filter, and it automagically creates a playlist of similar/related songs from your library.

It's like your own personal DJ bot and a whole new way to listen to your music in a "smarter" way than just putting your player on random play. The playlists it creates are pretty interesting and entertaining.

It also connects to their website and pops up a window with info about your selected artist and suggestions for other similar albums you might like, which of course you can purchase and download from the eMusic store. I'm not clear on what all it uploads to their site from your PC other than a list of songs in your library, but it looks mostly harmless.

It's a little confusing to get it all setup and working, but it's a fun toy to play with and helps you "rediscover" forgotten stuff in your music library.

(You can see some examples of what it generated for me after the jump. The first song on each is the one selected to generate the playlist. I have it set to put 99 songs on each playlist, the first 25 are shown. No snarky remarks on what an old geezer I am, please!)

1. Feelin' Alright - Joe Cocker (04:16)
2. Devil Doll - Roy Orbison (02:10)
3. Riverboat Song - J.J. Cale (03:06)
4. Darling Be Home Soon - Joe Cocker (04:43)
5. Good Shepherd - Jefferson Airplane (04:22)
6. Driftin' - Eric Clapton (03:09)
7. Only Fool in Town - Gary Moore (03:53)
8. Bus Stop - The Hollies (02:53)
9. You're My Girl (I Don't Want to Discuss It) - Rod Stewart (04:27)
10. Twilight - The Band (03:16)
11. It's All Over Now - Rod Stewart (06:21)
12. We Can Be Together - Jefferson Airplane (05:48)
13. Jumpin' at Shadows - Gary Moore (04:21)
14. Honky Tonk Women - Joe Cocker (03:47)
15. Five Long Years - Eric Clapton (04:48)
16. Claudette - Roy Orbison (01:57)
17. No Time - J.J. Cale (03:14)
18. Stage Fright - The Band (03:41)
19. Separate Ways - Gary Moore (04:55)
20. Pretty Paper - Roy Orbison (02:48)
21. Lady Day - Rod Stewart (04:04)
22. Bird On The Wire - Joe Cocker (06:33)
23. Who's Talking - J.J. Cale (03:27)
24. Motherless Child - Eric Clapton (02:57)
25. Meadowlands - Jefferson Airplane (01:04)

1. I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye (03:15)
2. Lately - Stevie Wonder (04:05)
3. Tears of a Clown - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (03:07)
4. Baby Love - The Supremes (02:38)
5. Security - Otis Redding (02:37)
6. Daydreamin' - Earth, Wind & Fire (04:03)
7. I'll Be There - The Jackson 5 (03:45)
8. Livin' for You [*] - Al Green (03:12)
9. Bewildered - James Brown & His Famous Flames (02:24)
10. Bop Gun (Endangered Species) - Parliament (08:32)
11. Sunshine (Go Away Today) - The Isley Brothers (04:22)
12. I Want to Take You Higher - Sly & the Family Stone (05:24)
13. It's the Same Old Song - The Four Tops (02:46)
14. Goliath - James Brown (06:16)
15. Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing - Marvin Gaye (02:19)
16. My Girl - The Temptations (02:58)
17. I Say A Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin (03:34)
18. I Don't Want to Do Wrong - Gladys Knight & the Pips (03:24)
19. Maybe the Last Time - James Brown & His Famous Flames (03:01)
20. Come See About Me - The Supremes (02:42)
21. Beauty Is Only Skin Deep - The Temptations (02:24)
22. Master Blaster (Jammin') - Stevie Wonder (05:08)
23. You Walk Your Way - The Isley Brothers (03:05)
24. I Can't Turn You Loose - Otis Redding (02:44)
25. Never Can Say Goodbye - The Jackson 5 (03:02)

1. He Stopped Loving Her Today - George Jones (03:17)
2. Texas Playboy Rag - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (02:39)
3. Father Sun - Wynonna Judd (04:20)
4. Steel Guitar Rag [#] - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (02:36)
5. The Other Side - Wynonna Judd (03:55)
6. New San Antonio Rose - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (02:40)
7. Used to Be - The Whites (02:51)
8. Feels Like Home - Linda Ronstadt (04:51)
9. Blues for Dixie - Lyle Lovett (03:07)
10. Angel Band - Chely Wright (03:53)
11. I'll Remember You Love in My Prayers - Ralph Stanley (02:33)
12. Hubbin' It - Heuy Lewis (02:28)
13. Mary Danced With Soldiers - The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (03:07)
14. Pink Cadillac - Bruce Springsteen (03:55)
15. Oh Death - Gillian Welch (02:53)
16. Got a Letter from My Kid Today - Ray Benson (03:20)
17. Seven Bridges Road - Dolly Parton (03:29)
18. Rank Stranger - Gail Davies (02:53)
19. Down at the Twist and Shout - Mary Chapin Carpenter (03:21)
20. Don't Come Crying to Me - Dawn Sears (03:08)
21. Joy to the World - Jon Randall (02:12)
22. Is That You - Buddy Miller (04:53)
23. Not Too Much to Ask - Joe Diffie (03:25)
24. Live and Learn - Clint Black (03:16)
25. Lonelier Than This - Steve Earle (03:12)