why is my macbook so finicky with the importing of cds?

Are you importing brand new CDs or using older slightly scratched ones? Perhaps you simply need to clean your discs.

shank is right, it usually freezes when it's trying to get a perfect read off CD with some scratches. One suggestion using iTunes (though I haven't tried it myself), it to set Preferences => Advanced => Importing => Use error correction... that may help. But definitely clean your CD, too. Try wiping carefully with a clean cotton shirt in a circular motion.

Believe it or not apple doesn't give you every thi8ng you need...http://sbooth.org/Max/

Can you play the CD from beginning to end using iTunes?

I think this is a hardware problem... it looks like some of the Macbooks and Macbook Pros are very, very sensitive when it comes to importing CDs. Far more sensitive than other machines. If it's happening a lot, you may want to take the computer and some CDs to the Apple Store and see if they think it warrants replacing the optical drive.

thanks for all the reponses. the cds are generally in perfect condition. and, the pc i have access to imports them all just fine. i'm oretty sure it is the optical drive, not the cds themselves.

You've probably already done this, but if you google itunes import freeze, you'll find others who have had similar problems. I saw one person suggest bad RAM, but other than that it does seem like the optical drive.

I had the same problem with mine, I just send it for a CD player replacement.

It seems to be a Specific MacBook problem.

If it's still under waranty (wich is likely, as the MacBook only appeared less than a year ago), you'll be fine in, like, a week.

Definitely sounds like your optical drive needs to be replaced.

no no no ben! NEVER clean a cd or dvd in a circular motion. use a soft, dry microfiber cloth and wipe the disc center to edge. circular wiping could grind a particle into the disc surface, and a circular scratch (along the path of the data) is much more likely to render the disc unusable. a scratch which runs across the data path is much more likely to be compensated for by the error-correction routines built into cd and dvd formatting.