Sounds to me like your home and portable players may be a bit out of date. Many players 3 years or older have a difficult time reading computer burnt cd's... due to a difference between home burners and the industrial burners the record companies use. Lets face it .... Our burners pale in comparison to the ones the industries use.

I have the same problem with my 3 year old Alpine unit in my car. And like me, you may just have to break down and buy new gear! As far as home units go, any respectable maker of today's CD and DVD units will play your computer burnt CD's.

I hope thie info helps.