How to Break Down a Full MP3 Album into Individual Songs

MP3 albums are usually divided into individual tracks, making it easy to skip directly to your favorite track of choice. Sometimes though, the album is just one long MP3. It may be because the album is a continuous mix, or it may be because the album itself didn't have a track listing. Whatever the reason, it's still possible to cut the album up into separate tracks using any number of free audio editors that are available online.

Using Audacity

Download Audacity and the LAME MP3 encoder for Audacity. Install Audacity first, then the encoder. After installation is complete, launch Audacity.

Go to "File" then "Open." Select the MP3 album you want to split up and click "Open."

Determine where the first song ends. You can listen to any part of the MP3 by clicking on a part of the song and hitting the play button in the upper-left side. Click and hold the mouse button where the song ends and drag it to the beginning of the album.

Press "Ctrl"+"X" to cut track one out of the album. Create a new file by going to "File" then "New" and paste the track into that window "Crtl"+"P."

Go to "File" then "Export as MP3." The first time you do this you will be asked to locate "lame_enc.dll." In this window, navigate to "C:\Program Files\Lame for Aduacity" and select the file. Click "Open" then "OK."

Repeat the steps for each track until the entire album has been separated into individual tracks.

Using WavePad Audio Editor

Download and install the WavePad Audio Editor. Launch the program after installation is complete.

Go to "Open File" and select the MP3 album you want to cut up. Click "Open" to open the file.

Determine where the first song ends. You can listen to any part of the MP3 by clicking on anywhere on the song and hitting the "play" button in the bottom left side. After you have discovered where the first track ends, click and hold the mouse button from that point and drag it to the beginning of the sound file.

Click on "Cut Selection" under the "Edit" tab on the left side and then go to "New File."

Click on "Paste" under "Edit" to paste the cut portion in this new file.

Go to "Save This File" and to save the track.

Repeat the steps for each track until the entire album has been separated into individual tracks.

Using Free Audio Editor

Download Free Audio Editor and launch the installation program. When prompted to choose an installation type, select "Custom Installation" and uncheck the box next to "Include Autocomplete Pro." Launch the program after installation completes.

Go to "File" then "Open." Double-click on the file you need to edit.

Determine where the first song ends. You can listen to any part of the MP3 by clicking on anywhere on the song and hitting the "play" button in the bottom left side. After you have discovered where the first track ends, click and hold the mouse button from that point and drag it to the beginning of the sound file.

Cut the first track out of the audio file by pressing "ctrl"+"x."

Go to "New File" and then press "ctrl"+"p" to paste the cut portion of the song into the new track.

Go to "File" then "Save File As." In the drop down menu next to "Save as type" select "MPEG Layer 3 (*.mp3)." Click "Save" to save the file.

Repeat the steps for each track until the entire album has been separated into individual tracks.