diff --git a/src-tauri/src/commands.rs b/src-tauri/src/commands.rs
index 3f4ebc9..7162abc 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/commands.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/commands.rs
@@ -563,6 +563,36 @@ pub async fn connect_and_login(
                                 &update.state,
                                 DS::Complete { .. } | DS::Failed { .. } | DS::Cancelled
                             );
+                            // Mirror every update for the debug overlay's
+                            // QUEUE section — these transfers are otherwise
+                            // invisible by design.
+                            let state_label = match &update.state {
+                                DS::Connecting => "connecting".to_string(),
+                                DS::Requested => "requested".to_string(),
+                                DS::Queued { .. } => "queued".to_string(),
+                                DS::Transferring => "transferring".to_string(),
+                                DS::Complete { .. } => "done".to_string(),
+                                DS::Failed { reason } => format!("failed: {reason}"),
+                                DS::Cancelled => "cancelled".to_string(),
+                            };
+                            let place = match &update.state {
+                                DS::Queued { place } => *place,
+                                _ => None,
+                            };
+                            crate::diagnostics::note_preload(
+                                &event_app,
+                                update.id,
+                                crate::diagnostics::PreloadDl {
+                                    username: update.username.clone(),
+                                    path: update.filename.clone(),
+                                    state: state_label,
+                                    place,
+                                    received: update.received,
+                                    total: update.total,
+                                    speed_bps: update.speed_bps,
+                                },
+                                terminal,
+                            );
                             if terminal {
                                 let cache = ps.preloads.lock().unwrap().remove(&update.id);
                                 let save_cache =
@@ -3829,6 +3859,9 @@ pub async fn play_stream(
         .map(|(id, _)| *id);
     if let Some(id) = preload_id {
         players.preloads.lock().unwrap().remove(&id);
+        // From here the transfer is the CURRENT track's stream; the overlay's
+        // DL line (note_stream below) reports it, not the on-deck list.
+        crate::diagnostics::retire_preload(&app, id);
         let progress = player::StreamProgress::new();
         if let Ok(md) = std::fs::metadata(&partial) {
             progress.update(md.len(), false, None);
@@ -4252,26 +4285,7 @@ pub async fn album_art(
             let Some(edge) = max_edge else {
                 return Ok((std::fs::read(&probe_path).map_err(|e| e.to_string())?, None));
             };
-            let target = probe_dir.and_then(|dir| {
-                let meta = std::fs::metadata(&probe_path).ok()?;
-                let mtime = meta
-                    .modified()
-                    .ok()?
-                    .duration_since(std::time::UNIX_EPOCH)
-                    .ok()?
-                    .as_nanos();
-                let mut hash: u64 = 0xcbf29ce484222325;
-                for b in probe_path
-                    .as_bytes()
-                    .iter()
-                    .chain(mtime.to_le_bytes().iter())
-                    .chain(meta.len().to_le_bytes().iter())
-                {
-                    hash ^= u64::from(*b);
-                    hash = hash.wrapping_mul(0x100000001b3);
-                }
-                Some(dir.join(format!("{hash:016x}-{edge}.jpg")))
-            });
+            let target = probe_dir.and_then(|dir| art_thumb_target(&dir, &probe_path, edge));
             if let Some(t) = &target {
                 if let Ok(cached) = std::fs::read(t) {
                     return Ok((cached, None));
@@ -4324,6 +4338,133 @@ pub async fn album_art(
 /// requests from ever owning more than two cores.
 static ART_DECODE_SLOTS: tokio::sync::Semaphore = tokio::sync::Semaphore::const_new(2);
 
+/// The disk-cache file for one (source, edge) thumbnail, keyed on
+/// (path, mtime, len, edge) so a replaced cover self-invalidates. ONE
+/// implementation on purpose: `album_art` reads through this key and
+/// `library_art_prewarm` writes through it — if they computed it separately
+/// and drifted, the warm work would be invisible to the tiles it was done
+/// for. None when the source file cannot be statted.
+fn art_thumb_target(dir: &std::path::Path, src: &str, edge: u32) -> Option<std::path::PathBuf> {
+    let meta = std::fs::metadata(src).ok()?;
+    let mtime = meta
+        .modified()
+        .ok()?
+        .duration_since(std::time::UNIX_EPOCH)
+        .ok()?
+        .as_nanos();
+    let mut hash: u64 = 0xcbf29ce484222325;
+    for b in src
+        .as_bytes()
+        .iter()
+        .chain(mtime.to_le_bytes().iter())
+        .chain(meta.len().to_le_bytes().iter())
+    {
+        hash ^= u64::from(*b);
+        hash = hash.wrapping_mul(0x100000001b3);
+    }
+    Some(dir.join(format!("{hash:016x}-{edge}.jpg")))
+}
+
+/// Make the thumbnail cache hold every library cover (and artist portrait) at
+/// each requested edge, so the Library's first-ever scroll is a disk read
+/// instead of a master decode — [{warm, decoded}] per edge, in the order
+/// given, so the caller puts the size it paints first.
+///
+/// Already-warm entries cost one stat each. Cold ones decode ONE at a time,
+/// through the same 2-permit gate the tiles use — a background warm can never
+/// own more than one core, and an on-screen tile waits behind at most one
+/// decode. Edges walk outermost so the first edge finishes across the whole
+/// library before the next begins.
+#[tauri::command]
+pub async fn library_art_prewarm(
+    app: tauri::AppHandle,
+    lib: State<'_, LibraryState>,
+    edges: Vec<u32>,
+) -> Result<Vec<(usize, usize)>, String> {
+    let Some(thumb_dir) = app
+        .path()
+        .app_cache_dir()
+        .ok()
+        .map(|d| d.join("art-thumbs-v1"))
+    else {
+        return Ok(vec![]);
+    };
+    let l = lib.library.clone();
+    let albums =
+        tauri::async_runtime::spawn_blocking(move || l.list_albums().map_err(|e| e.to_string()))
+            .await
+            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())??;
+    let mut paths: Vec<String> = Vec::new();
+    let mut seen = std::collections::HashSet::new();
+    for a in &albums {
+        // Portraits too: the shelf heads load through the same tile path.
+        for p in [a.art_path.as_ref(), a.artist_art_path.as_ref()]
+            .into_iter()
+            .flatten()
+        {
+            if seen.insert(p.clone()) {
+                paths.push(p.clone());
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    let mut out = Vec::new();
+    for edge in edges {
+        if edge == 0 {
+            out.push((0, 0));
+            continue;
+        }
+        // One pass of cheap stats finds the cold set; the warm majority never
+        // touches a permit (the same shape as album_art's phase 1).
+        let dir = thumb_dir.clone();
+        let batch = paths.clone();
+        let (warm, cold) = tauri::async_runtime::spawn_blocking(move || {
+            let mut warm = 0usize;
+            let mut cold: Vec<(String, std::path::PathBuf)> = Vec::new();
+            for path in &batch {
+                match art_thumb_target(&dir, path, edge) {
+                    Some(t) if t.exists() => warm += 1,
+                    Some(t) => cold.push((path.clone(), t)),
+                    None => {}
+                }
+            }
+            (warm, cold)
+        })
+        .await
+        .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+        let mut decoded = 0usize;
+        for (path, target) in cold {
+            let permit = ART_DECODE_SLOTS
+                .acquire()
+                .await
+                .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+            let ok = tauri::async_runtime::spawn_blocking(move || {
+                let Ok(bytes) = std::fs::read(&path) else {
+                    return false;
+                };
+                // Same fallback as album_art: an undecodable or already-small
+                // source caches its original bytes, so the discovery is paid
+                // once there too.
+                let out = match pipeline::thumbnail_jpeg(&bytes, edge) {
+                    Ok(Some(thumb)) => thumb,
+                    _ => bytes,
+                };
+                if let Some(dir) = target.parent() {
+                    let _ = std::fs::create_dir_all(dir);
+                }
+                std::fs::write(&target, &out).is_ok()
+            })
+            .await
+            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+            drop(permit);
+            if ok {
+                decoded += 1;
+            }
+        }
+        out.push((warm, decoded));
+    }
+    Ok(out)
+}
+
 /// The cover a streamed track carries INSIDE its own bytes, extracted to a
 /// file the ordinary art path can read.
 ///
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/diagnostics.rs b/src-tauri/src/diagnostics.rs
index 2bd4039..f7120a4 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/diagnostics.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/diagnostics.rs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 //! Process figures aggregate the WHOLE process tree: the WebView2 children
 //! do the actual rendering, so app.exe alone would tell a comforting lie.
 
+use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
 use std::time::Instant;
 
@@ -27,6 +28,48 @@ struct Inner {
     /// StreamProgress — the overlay must read download truth at the source,
     /// not the UI store's window-activity-gated mirror.
     current_stream: Option<(u64, Arc<StreamProgress>)>,
+    /// On-deck pre-buffer transfers by transfer id, mirrored from the
+    /// download event stream (those updates are otherwise swallowed — no
+    /// player, no Downloads view). The Instant is set when the transfer
+    /// reaches a terminal state, so finished rows linger long enough to be
+    /// seen and then fall off.
+    preloads: HashMap<u64, (PreloadDl, Option<Instant>)>,
+}
+
+/// One on-deck transfer as the overlay sees it.
+#[derive(Serialize, Clone)]
+#[serde(rename_all = "camelCase")]
+pub struct PreloadDl {
+    pub username: String,
+    /// Full remote path — the frontend matches queue rows by this.
+    pub path: String,
+    pub state: String,
+    /// Remote queue position, when the peer reported one.
+    pub place: Option<u32>,
+    pub received: u64,
+    pub total: u64,
+    pub speed_bps: u64,
+}
+
+/// Called from the download event stream for every preload update.
+pub fn note_preload(app: &tauri::AppHandle, id: u64, dl: PreloadDl, terminal: bool) {
+    if let Some(state) = app.try_state::<DiagState>() {
+        let finished = if terminal { Some(Instant::now()) } else { None };
+        state
+            .0
+            .lock()
+            .expect("diag lock")
+            .preloads
+            .insert(id, (dl, finished));
+    }
+}
+
+/// Called when a play path takes the transfer over: it is the CURRENT
+/// track's stream from here on (note_stream reports it), not an on-deck row.
+pub fn retire_preload(app: &tauri::AppHandle, id: u64) {
+    if let Some(state) = app.try_state::<DiagState>() {
+        state.0.lock().expect("diag lock").preloads.remove(&id);
+    }
 }
 
 /// Called by the play paths: this track streams from a peer.
@@ -51,6 +94,7 @@ pub fn init(app: &tauri::AppHandle) {
         gpu: GpuCounter::open(),
         started: Instant::now(),
         current_stream: None,
+        preloads: HashMap::new(),
     })));
 }
 
@@ -98,6 +142,9 @@ pub struct DebugStats {
     pub preview_volume: Option<f32>,
     /// The active preview clip's loudness-normalization gain in dB.
     pub preview_norm_db: Option<f32>,
+    /// On-deck pre-buffer transfers, in arrival order (finished rows linger
+    /// ~15s so a completion is visible before it drops off).
+    pub preload_dl: Vec<PreloadDl>,
 }
 
 #[tauri::command]
@@ -167,6 +214,18 @@ pub fn debug_stats(app: tauri::AppHandle, state: State<'_, DiagState>) -> DebugS
     let tree_u32: Vec<u32> = tree.iter().map(|p| p.as_u32()).collect();
     let gpu_sample = inner.gpu.as_mut().and_then(|g| g.sample(&tree_u32));
 
+    // On-deck transfers: drop terminal rows after they've been visible a
+    // while, then report the rest in arrival (transfer-id) order.
+    inner
+        .preloads
+        .retain(|_, v| v.1.is_none_or(|t| t.elapsed().as_secs() < 15));
+    let mut preload_ids: Vec<u64> = inner.preloads.keys().copied().collect();
+    preload_ids.sort_unstable();
+    let preload_dl: Vec<PreloadDl> = preload_ids
+        .iter()
+        .filter_map(|id| inner.preloads.get(id).map(|(dl, _)| dl.clone()))
+        .collect();
+
     DebugStats {
         cpu_process,
         cpu_system: inner.sys.global_cpu_usage(),
@@ -201,6 +260,7 @@ pub fn debug_stats(app: tauri::AppHandle, state: State<'_, DiagState>) -> DebugS
         main_fade_gain: app
             .try_state::<crate::playback::PlayerState>()
             .map(|p| p.player.fade_gain()),
+        preload_dl,
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/lib.rs b/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
index 6522712..8054e30 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ pub fn run() {
             commands::library_album_stats,
             commands::album_tracks,
             commands::album_art,
+            commands::library_art_prewarm,
             commands::stream_embedded_art,
             commands::refresh_album_art,
             commands::refresh_all_album_art,
diff --git a/src/components/DebugOverlay.svelte b/src/components/DebugOverlay.svelte
index 7b2c77c..1831649 100644
--- a/src/components/DebugOverlay.svelte
+++ b/src/components/DebugOverlay.svelte
@@ -1,15 +1,22 @@
 <script>
     // Dev debug overlay — Ctrl+Shift+D. Read-only glass pane over the app:
     // system + process-tree CPU/GPU/RAM, network rates, the active track's
-    // download progress/speed and loudness-normalization state, renderer
-    // FPS, and the preview session when one is open. Polls the backend only
-    // while visible; costs nothing when hidden.
+    // download progress/speed, the on-deck queue window (what the pre-buffer
+    // is doing about each upcoming track), loudness-normalization state,
+    // renderer FPS, and the preview session when one is open. Polls the
+    // backend only while visible; costs nothing when hidden.
     import * as api from "../lib/api.js";
-    import { player } from "../lib/state.svelte.js";
+    import { player, onDeckSnapshot } from "../lib/state.svelte.js";
     import { previewUi } from "../lib/preview/previewSession.svelte.js";
 
     let visible = $state(false);
     let stats = $state(null);
+    // The on-deck window (QUEUE section): indices + module-private markers
+    // from the player machinery, refreshed on the same 1s tick as stats.
+    let deck = $state(null);
+    // Cache-file byte lengths for on-deck rows with no live transfer —
+    // tells "cached ✓" from "prefix n MB" from "nothing yet".
+    let cacheLens = $state({});
     let fps = $state(0);
     let drops = $state(0); // main-thread frames >25ms since overlay opened
     let worstGap = $state(0);
@@ -41,6 +48,29 @@
             dlSpeed = cur >= lastReceived && dt > 0 ? (cur - lastReceived) / dt : 0;
             lastReceived = cur;
             lastAt = now;
+            // On-deck window. For stream rows with no live transfer reporting
+            // bytes, ask the cache file itself — that covers tracks that were
+            // fully cached before this session ever preloaded anything.
+            deck = onDeckSnapshot();
+            const lens = {};
+            await Promise.all(
+                deck.indices.map(async (i) => {
+                    const it = player.queue[i];
+                    if (!it?.stream || !it.path) return;
+                    const live = stats?.preloadDl?.some(
+                        (p) =>
+                            p.path === it.path
+                            && p.username === it.stream.username
+                            && p.state !== "done",
+                    );
+                    if (live) return;
+                    try {
+                        const len = await api.streamCacheLen(it.stream.username, it.path);
+                        if (len != null) lens[it.path] = len;
+                    } catch {}
+                }),
+            );
+            cacheLens = lens;
         };
         void tick();
         const id = setInterval(tick, 1000);
@@ -125,6 +155,87 @@
             ? { db: loud.headStartDb, from: loud.prefixGainDb }
             : null,
     );
+
+    // ---- QUEUE: the on-deck pre-buffer window ----
+    const base = (p) => (p ? p.split("\\").pop() : "?");
+
+    /** One readout line per queue row: what the on-deck machinery is doing
+     * about it right now. Live transfer state comes from the backend's own
+     * mirror (preloadDl); rows without a transfer fall back to the cache
+     * file's length; pending rows report the lookahead's posture. */
+    function classifyRow(item, slot, isCurrent) {
+        const name = `${item.artist ? `${item.artist} — ` : ""}${item.title ?? base(item.path)}`;
+        let status;
+        let pct = null;
+        let cls = "dim";
+        if (isCurrent) {
+            status = player.status;
+            cls = "";
+        } else if (item.unplayable) {
+            status = "unplayable";
+            cls = "warn";
+        } else if (!item.path && !item.stream) {
+            // A pending playlist row: no source yet. One lookahead search per
+            // row — spent means it came up dry and waits for its real turn.
+            const tried = deck.wasLookaheadTried(item);
+            status = tried ? "searched · dry (retries on reach)" : "resolving source…";
+            cls = tried ? "warn" : "";
+        } else if (!item.stream) {
+            status = "local file";
+        } else {
+            const dl = stats?.preloadDl?.find(
+                (p) => p.path === item.path && p.username === item.stream.username,
+            );
+            const size = dl?.total || item.stream.size || 0;
+            const len = cacheLens[item.path];
+            if (dl?.state === "transferring") {
+                status = `${mb(dl.received)}/${mb(size)} MB · ${rate(dl.speedBps)}`;
+                pct = size > 0 ? (dl.received / size) * 100 : null;
+                cls = "";
+            } else if (dl?.state === "queued") {
+                status = dl.place != null ? `queued at peer #${dl.place}` : "queued at peer";
+            } else if (dl && dl.state !== "done") {
+                // connecting / requested / failed: reason / cancelled
+                status = dl.state;
+                cls = dl.state === "connecting" || dl.state === "requested" ? "dim" : "warn";
+            } else if (dl?.state === "done" || (len != null && size > 0 && len >= size)) {
+                status = "cached ✓";
+                cls = "ok";
+            } else if (len > 0) {
+                status = `prefix ${mb(len)} MB`;
+            } else if (deck.isRequested(item.path)) {
+                status = "requested…";
+            } else {
+                status = "idle";
+            }
+            if (deck.appendedNextPath === item.path) status += " · in sink";
+        }
+        return { slot, name, status, pct, cls, isCurrent };
+    }
+
+    const queueRows = $derived.by(() => {
+        if (!deck) return [];
+        const rows = [];
+        const cur = player.queue[player.queueIndex];
+        if (cur) rows.push(classifyRow(cur, "▶", true));
+        deck.indices.forEach((i, k) => {
+            const item = player.queue[i];
+            if (item) rows.push(classifyRow(item, String(k + 1), false));
+        });
+        return rows;
+    });
+
+    /** Backend transfers for paths no longer in the window — the sliding
+     * window moved on (a jump, a reshuffle) but the bytes keep arriving. */
+    const offWindow = $derived.by(() => {
+        if (!deck || !stats?.preloadDl?.length) return [];
+        const winPaths = new Set(
+            [player.queue[player.queueIndex], ...deck.indices.map((i) => player.queue[i])]
+                .map((it) => it?.path)
+                .filter(Boolean),
+        );
+        return stats.preloadDl.filter((p) => !winPaths.has(p.path));
+    });
 </script>
 
 <svelte:window onkeydown={onKeydown} />
@@ -163,6 +274,36 @@
                     <div class="dim">DL — no active stream</div>
                 {/if}
             </div>
+            <div class="sec">
+                <div>
+                    <b>QUEUE</b>
+                    {#if player.queue.length}
+                        {player.queueIndex + 1}/{player.queue.length}
+                        · on-deck {deck?.indices?.length ?? 0}
+                        {#if player.shuffle}· shuffle{/if}
+                        {#if player.repeat && player.repeat !== "off"}· repeat {player.repeat}{/if}
+                    {:else}
+                        empty
+                    {/if}
+                </div>
+                {#each queueRows as r}
+                    <div class="qrow">
+                        <span class="qslot" class:cur={r.isCurrent}>{r.slot}</span>
+                        <span class="qname" title={r.name}>{r.name}</span>
+                    </div>
+                    <div class="qstat {r.cls}">{r.status}</div>
+                    {#if r.pct != null}
+                        <div class="bar q"><i style="width:{Math.min(100, r.pct)}%"></i></div>
+                    {/if}
+                {/each}
+                {#each offWindow as p}
+                    <!-- State + bytes lead: the filename is the part that can
+                         afford to truncate. -->
+                    <div class="dim qoff" title={p.path}>
+                        ↳ {p.state}{p.state === "transferring" ? ` ${mb(p.received)}${p.total ? `/${mb(p.total)}` : ""} MB` : ""} · {base(p.path)}
+                    </div>
+                {/each}
+            </div>
             <div class="sec">
                 <div>
                     <b>NORM</b>
@@ -302,6 +443,47 @@
     .num.hot {
         color: #ffc46b;
     }
+    /* QUEUE rows: name line, then an indented status line (and a mini bar
+       while bytes are moving) — two short lines read better at 11px than
+       one truncated long one. */
+    .qrow {
+        display: flex;
+        gap: 6px;
+        align-items: baseline;
+        margin-top: 3px;
+    }
+    .qslot {
+        min-width: 12px;
+        text-align: right;
+        color: rgba(215, 224, 234, 0.45);
+    }
+    .qslot.cur {
+        color: #7fd0ff;
+    }
+    .qname {
+        flex: 1;
+        white-space: nowrap;
+        overflow: hidden;
+        text-overflow: ellipsis;
+    }
+    .qstat {
+        margin-left: 18px;
+        font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
+    }
+    .qstat.warn {
+        color: #ffc46b;
+    }
+    .qstat.ok {
+        color: #7fd0ff;
+    }
+    .bar.q {
+        margin-left: 18px;
+    }
+    .qoff {
+        white-space: nowrap;
+        overflow: hidden;
+        text-overflow: ellipsis;
+    }
     /* A scale, not a fill: the two markers are POSITIONS on −15…+9 dB, so the
        distance between them is the correction still to travel. */
     .bar.slew {
diff --git a/src/lib/api.js b/src/lib/api.js
index 9544b13..3b60458 100644
--- a/src/lib/api.js
+++ b/src/lib/api.js
@@ -140,6 +140,10 @@ export const openExternal = (url) => invoke("open_external", { url });
 // pixels on the long side. Omit it only where true pixels matter (the
 // fullscreen viewer, the import picker's comparison and loupe).
 export const albumArt = (path, maxEdge = null) => invoke("album_art", { path, maxEdge });
+/** Warm the disk thumbnail cache for the whole library at the given edges —
+ * [{warm, decoded}] per edge. Slow by design (one decode at a time); callers
+ * fire-and-forget it. */
+export const libraryArtPrewarm = (edges) => invoke("library_art_prewarm", { edges });
 /** The cover embedded in a streamed track's own cache file, extracted to a
  * local image path — null while the transfer is too young to read, or when
  * the peer's file simply carries no picture. */
diff --git a/src/lib/state.svelte.js b/src/lib/state.svelte.js
index 5ee5571..8207b63 100644
--- a/src/lib/state.svelte.js
+++ b/src/lib/state.svelte.js
@@ -541,7 +541,11 @@ function gatedArtFetch(fn) {
                 .then(resolve, reject)
                 .finally(() => {
                     artFetchActive -= 1;
-                    const next = artFetchQueue.shift();
+                    // Newest first: on a fast scroll the queue's tail is the
+                    // tiles on screen RIGHT NOW and its head is the screens
+                    // scrolled past. FIFO served the wake behind the viewer;
+                    // the passed-by tiles still drain once the burst settles.
+                    const next = artFetchQueue.pop();
                     if (next) next();
                 });
         };
@@ -1176,12 +1180,53 @@ export async function refreshLibrary() {
         libraryStore.albums = await api.libraryAlbums();
         libraryStore.loaded = true;
         window.__libErr = null;
+        scheduleArtPrewarm();
     } catch (e) {
         // not connected to backend (browser preview) — leave empty
         window.__libErr = String(e);
     }
 }
 
+// ---- thumbnail pre-warm ----
+// The disk cache makes a REVISITED cover a 1.5ms read, but the first-ever
+// visit still decoded on scroll — so a section you had never scrolled to
+// showed placeholders while its masters decoded two at a time. Warm the whole
+// library once in the background instead (the Library's tile edge first, then
+// the queue-card size) and every scroll lands on the warm path. Re-runs are
+// ~one stat per cover, so this simply re-fires after every library change to
+// pick up new arrivals; the guard coalesces bursts.
+let artPrewarmRunning = false;
+let artPrewarmAgain = false;
+const ART_PREWARM_DELAY_MS = 4000;
+let artPrewarmTimer = null;
+function scheduleArtPrewarm() {
+    // Delay past the boot/refresh paint so the first screen's own art
+    // requests hit the decode permits before the background walk does.
+    clearTimeout(artPrewarmTimer);
+    artPrewarmTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+        artPrewarmTimer = null;
+        void runArtPrewarm();
+    }, ART_PREWARM_DELAY_MS);
+}
+async function runArtPrewarm() {
+    if (artPrewarmRunning) {
+        artPrewarmAgain = true;
+        return;
+    }
+    artPrewarmRunning = true;
+    try {
+        await api.libraryArtPrewarm([ART_EDGE_DEFAULT, 96]);
+    } catch {
+        // browser preview / old backend — tiles still load on demand
+    } finally {
+        artPrewarmRunning = false;
+    }
+    if (artPrewarmAgain) {
+        artPrewarmAgain = false;
+        scheduleArtPrewarm();
+    }
+}
+
 // ---- catalog browser (Deezer-backed streaming-style search) ----
 
 export const catalog = $state({
@@ -3274,20 +3319,45 @@ export async function openAlbumByName(artist, title, opts = {}) {
     if (!artist || !title) return null;
     const na = catNorm(artist);
     const nt = catNorm(title);
-    const key = `${na}|${nt}`;
+    // A year hint changes which record the same name resolves to (the
+    // self-titled-trio case), so it is part of the answer's identity — a
+    // shared key would let one LP's answer poison the others'.
+    const key = opts.year != null ? `${na}|${nt}|${opts.year}` : `${na}|${nt}`;
     if (albumNameResolves.has(key)) {
         const id = albumNameResolves.get(key);
         if (id != null) openCatalogAlbum(id, opts);
         return id;
     }
+    /** Same-titled rows from a DATED list (the artist's own discography),
+     * preferring the hinted year. Self-titled multiples (American Football ×3,
+     * Weezer ×7) all normalize to one title, so without a date the first row
+     * simply wins — and the first row is the wrong record two times in three. */
+    const pickByYear = (albums) => {
+        const same = (albums ?? []).filter((al) => catNorm(al.title) === nt);
+        if (!same.length) return null;
+        if (opts.year != null) {
+            const dated = same.find((al) =>
+                String(al.release_date ?? "").startsWith(String(opts.year)),
+            );
+            if (dated) return dated;
+        }
+        return same[0];
+    };
     try {
         const res = await api.catalogSearch(`${artist} ${title}`);
         if (request !== albumResolveRequest) return null;
         // A title-only or first-result fallback can cross into a namesake's
         // catalog. Without a verified id, both artist and title must match.
-        let match = res.albums?.find(
+        const searchMatches = (res.albums ?? []).filter(
             (album) => catNorm(album.artist) === na && catNorm(album.title) === nt,
         );
+        // Deezer's /search/album strips release dates, so a year hint cannot
+        // be checked here — and a single hit is no proof of the RIGHT record
+        // when namesake editions exist. A unique, unhinted hit keeps the fast
+        // path; ambiguity (a hint, or several same-titled hits) falls through
+        // to the artist's own dated discography below.
+        let match =
+            searchMatches.length === 1 && opts.year == null ? searchMatches[0] : null;
         // Deezer's SEARCH index is not the whole discography. The artist page
         // merges a MusicBrainz supplement on top of it, so records Deezer does
         // not carry at all still have a real id, a real release date and full
@@ -3303,7 +3373,7 @@ export async function openAlbumByName(artist, title, opts = {}) {
             if (seed?.id != null) {
                 const page = await getCatalogArtistPage(seed.id).catch(() => null);
                 if (request !== albumResolveRequest) return null;
-                match = page?.albums?.find((album) => catNorm(album.title) === nt);
+                match = pickByYear(page?.albums);
                 // The cached page is only SUPPLEMENTED once the artist page
                 // has been visited — cold, it is the raw Deezer list and the
                 // MB-only records are still missing. Run the same merge the
@@ -3324,12 +3394,14 @@ export async function openAlbumByName(artist, title, opts = {}) {
                             },
                             identity,
                         );
-                        match = merged?.albums?.find(
-                            (album) => catNorm(album.title) === nt,
-                        );
+                        match = pickByYear(merged?.albums);
                     }
                 }
             }
+            // The discography had nothing to say (unresolvable artist, or the
+            // record missing from it) — a bare search hit is still better than
+            // a dead click, year-verified or not.
+            if (!match) match = searchMatches[0] ?? null;
         }
         // A settled miss is an answer ABOUT THE RECORD: neither the catalog nor
         // the artist's own discography has it. Negative-cache that. A throw
@@ -6895,6 +6967,22 @@ export function peekNextIndices(count = STREAM_PRELOAD_DEPTH) {
     return out;
 }
 
+/** Debug-overlay window into the on-deck machinery. Read-only: the indices
+ * the pre-buffer is arming, plus the module-private bits a QUEUE readout
+ * needs — which path is already appended to the sink, whether a path has
+ * been asked of the backend this session, and whether the lookahead already
+ * spent its one search try on a still-pending row. The membership checks are
+ * closures because both containers are reassigned/forgotten on queue
+ * rebuilds — a copied array would go stale mid-tick. */
+export function onDeckSnapshot() {
+    return {
+        indices: peekNextIndices(STREAM_PRELOAD_DEPTH),
+        appendedNextPath,
+        isRequested: (path) => preloadRequestedPaths.has(path),
+        wasLookaheadTried: (item) => (item ? lookaheadTried.has(item) : false),
+    };
+}
+
 /** The queue index that plays after the current track, or -1 when playback
  * would stop there. THE one answer for what comes next — the up-next card,
  * the gapless preload/append, the pending-row lookahead and the advance
@@ -7314,6 +7402,7 @@ if (import.meta.env.DEV) {
         // beyond convenience: the server ignores the handshake after a burst
         // of reconnects, so a verification run that streams costs a login.
         playLocalFile, playAlbum, togglePlayPause, nextTrack, prevTrack,
+        jumpToQueueIndex,
         catalogGo, refreshLibrary, refreshRecents,
         autoConnect, refreshSourcePrefs, _sourceAudit, sourcePrefs,
         playlistStore, refreshPlaylists, goToView, peekNextIndices,
diff --git a/src/views/Library.svelte b/src/views/Library.svelte
index ecac507..b3f97dd 100644
--- a/src/views/Library.svelte
+++ b/src/views/Library.svelte
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
         getCatalogArtistPage,
         openCatalogArtist,
         openCatalogAlbum,
+        openAlbumByName,
         RECENTS_FLOOR_SECS,
         recentsStore,
         importResume,
@@ -778,9 +779,19 @@
         const wanted = album.id;
         try {
             const page = await getCatalogArtistPage(anchored.artistId);
-            const match = (page?.albums ?? []).find(
+            // Same-titled records collapse to one normalized key (American
+            // Football × 3, Weezer × 7). The artist page's rows are dated, so
+            // the local folder's year picks the right one; only then does the
+            // first row stand in.
+            const same = (page?.albums ?? []).filter(
                 (r) => normKey(r.title) === normKey(album.title),
             );
+            const match =
+                (album.year != null
+                    && same.find((r) =>
+                        String(r.release_date ?? "").startsWith(String(album.year)),
+                    ))
+                || same[0];
             if (openId === wanted && match) openCatalogId = match.id;
         } catch { /* no link; the title stays plain */ }
     }
@@ -1610,17 +1621,24 @@
                                 {/if}
                             </button>
                             <!-- The name opens the record's own page, as it does
-                                 on the artist page — but only once the local
-                                 folder has been joined to a catalogue row. Until
-                                 then (or for an artist with no anchored id) it
-                                 stays plain text rather than a link that would
-                                 have to guess where it goes. -->
+                                 on the artist page. An anchored (followed)
+                                 artist's join gives the id up front; otherwise
+                                 the click resolves through openAlbumByName —
+                                 the now-playing links' guarded resolver, which
+                                 verifies artist AND title (never guesses) and
+                                 stays put on a settled miss. Plain text only
+                                 when the row has no artist+title to resolve. -->
                             <h3 class="rail-title">
-                                {#if openCatalogId != null}
+                                {#if openCatalogId != null || (openAlbum?.artist && openAlbum?.title)}
                                     <button
                                         class="rail-title-link"
                                         title="Open album"
-                                        onclick={() => openCatalogAlbum(openCatalogId)}
+                                        onclick={() =>
+                                            openCatalogId != null
+                                                ? openCatalogAlbum(openCatalogId)
+                                                : openAlbumByName(openAlbum.artist, openAlbum.title, {
+                                                      year: openAlbum.year ?? null,
+                                                  })}
                                     >{openAlbum?.title ?? ""}</button>
                                 {:else}
                                     <span class="rail-title-text">{openAlbum?.title ?? ""}</span>