2 seconds between songs ... or ....?

[jimmys69]

Those 2 second gaps are the best parts of some CDs, just sayin'...

Ahh... the sweet sound...

[Chili]

Those 2 second gaps are the best parts of some CDs, just sayin'...

If you're lucky sometimes you can find a 15 second gap.

[gecko zzed]

The gap I leave between tracks depends on what comes before and what comes after. If it is more of the same and you want to preserve the mood, you keep the gap short. If it a contrast, the gap can be bigger to allow the listener to deal with first before moving on to the second. You can build this breathing space into the end of the track itself, or by adjusting track gap.

[ashcat_lt]

I very often time my gaps to the beat of the track. I like to have about a beat of silence before the actual start of the track and something like a measure at the end. Of course I listen and go by feel when assembling a full album, but for singles I just do that and for albums it's always my starting point and usually doesn't need much tweaking.

It has the added benefit of making it work reasonably well in a shuffle or playlist situation, which is more common than listening to the full album as sequenced anyway. Interminably long silences at the end of a track just suck for that, and nowadays should almost just be another track.