foobar2000 sort string:

  1. Get >foobar2000 (Win32)
  2. Go to the menu item Edit > Sort > Sort by ...
  3. Paste this string:
    $if($stricmp(%album artist%,'Various'),'zzzzz',$if(%various%,'zzzzz',$if($stricmp($left(%artist%,3),'The'),$right(%artist%,$sub($len(%artist%),3)),%artist%))) - [%date% -] %album% - $if(%tracknumber%,$num(%tracknumber%,2),%_directoryname% - %_filename%)

It will sort your playlist in this order:

  1. Artist, The
  2. Release date
  3. Album title
  4. Track number, if extant, otherwise:
    1. Directory name
    2. File name