diff --git a/flutter_client/lib/player/audio_handler.dart b/flutter_client/lib/player/audio_handler.dart
index 663f9c28..bec44789 100644
--- a/flutter_client/lib/player/audio_handler.dart
+++ b/flutter_client/lib/player/audio_handler.dart
@@ -70,6 +70,13 @@ class MinstrelAudioHandler extends BaseAudioHandler with QueueHandler, SeekHandl
   /// is already correct, and we re-enable normal listener behavior.
   bool _suppressIndexUpdates = false;
 
+  /// Increments on every setQueueFromTracks call. The background
+  /// fill task captures the value at start and bails if the live
+  /// counter has moved on — without this, a stale fill will keep
+  /// addAudioSource'ing tracks from the previous playlist into the
+  /// new queue, leaving the player "locked" to a corrupted state.
+  int _queueGeneration = 0;
+
   /// Volume stream for UI subscribers. Mirrors the just_audio player's
   /// volume directly; set via setVolume(double).
   Stream<double> get volumeStream => _player.volumeStream;
@@ -103,6 +110,15 @@ class MinstrelAudioHandler extends BaseAudioHandler with QueueHandler, SeekHandl
     if (tracks.isEmpty) return;
     final clampedInitial = initialIndex.clamp(0, tracks.length - 1);
 
+    // Bump the generation FIRST. Any in-flight _fillRemainingSources
+    // from a previous play will see the mismatch on its next gen
+    // check and stop calling player mutations — important so a stale
+    // fill doesn't append old-playlist tracks into the new queue.
+    final myGen = ++_queueGeneration;
+    // Reset suppress flag in case a prior backward-fill bailed on
+    // gen check before reaching its `finally`.
+    _suppressIndexUpdates = false;
+
     // Populate the visible queue + current mediaItem immediately so
     // the player UI reflects the user's tap before any source has
     // been built. Source list at the just_audio layer fills in
@@ -112,7 +128,7 @@ class MinstrelAudioHandler extends BaseAudioHandler with QueueHandler, SeekHandl
     mediaItem.add(items[clampedInitial]);
 
     debugPrint('audio_handler.setQueueFromTracks: '
-        '_baseUrl="$_baseUrl" trackCount=${tracks.length}');
+        '_baseUrl="$_baseUrl" trackCount=${tracks.length} gen=$myGen');
     final sw = Stopwatch()..start();
 
     // Fast path: build only the initial source so the player can
@@ -120,6 +136,10 @@ class MinstrelAudioHandler extends BaseAudioHandler with QueueHandler, SeekHandl
     // in the background — addAudioSource for next/auto-advance
     // tracks, insertAudioSource for skipPrev tracks.
     final initial = await _buildAudioSource(tracks[clampedInitial]);
+    if (myGen != _queueGeneration) {
+      debugPrint('audio_handler: superseded before setAudioSources (gen=$myGen)');
+      return;
+    }
     debugPrint('audio_handler: built initial source in '
         '${sw.elapsedMilliseconds}ms');
     sw.reset();
@@ -129,7 +149,7 @@ class MinstrelAudioHandler extends BaseAudioHandler with QueueHandler, SeekHandl
     debugPrint('audio_handler: setAudioSources(1) ${sw.elapsedMilliseconds}ms');
 
     unawaited(_loadArtForCurrentItem());
-    unawaited(_fillRemainingSources(tracks, clampedInitial));
+    unawaited(_fillRemainingSources(tracks, clampedInitial, myGen));
   }
 
   /// Background fill of the rest of the just_audio source list after
@@ -138,12 +158,23 @@ class MinstrelAudioHandler extends BaseAudioHandler with QueueHandler, SeekHandl
   /// currentIndex; we suppress _onCurrentIndexChanged side effects
   /// for those so the mediaItem stream doesn't bounce to the wrong
   /// queue entry.
+  ///
+  /// `gen` is the queue generation captured when this fill started.
+  /// Every loop iteration checks against _queueGeneration; if a
+  /// newer setQueueFromTracks has run (user tapped play on something
+  /// else), bail immediately so we don't pollute the new queue with
+  /// addAudioSource calls from this stale fill.
   Future<void> _fillRemainingSources(
-      List<TrackRef> tracks, int initialIndex) async {
+      List<TrackRef> tracks, int initialIndex, int gen) async {
     final sw = Stopwatch()..start();
     for (var i = initialIndex + 1; i < tracks.length; i++) {
+      if (gen != _queueGeneration) {
+        debugPrint('audio_handler: forward fill aborted (gen=$gen, current=$_queueGeneration)');
+        return;
+      }
       try {
         final src = await _buildAudioSource(tracks[i]);
+        if (gen != _queueGeneration) return;
         await _player.addAudioSource(src);
       } catch (e) {
         debugPrint('audio_handler: forward fill failed for ${tracks[i].id}: $e');
@@ -157,13 +188,20 @@ class MinstrelAudioHandler extends BaseAudioHandler with QueueHandler, SeekHandl
       _suppressIndexUpdates = true;
       try {
         for (var i = 0; i < initialIndex; i++) {
+          if (gen != _queueGeneration) {
+            debugPrint('audio_handler: backward fill aborted (gen=$gen, current=$_queueGeneration)');
+            return;
+          }
           final src = await _buildAudioSource(tracks[i]);
+          if (gen != _queueGeneration) return;
           await _player.insertAudioSource(i, src);
         }
       } catch (e) {
         debugPrint('audio_handler: backward fill failed: $e');
       } finally {
-        _suppressIndexUpdates = false;
+        // Only release the flag if we're still the active gen — a
+        // newer setQueueFromTracks already reset it for itself.
+        if (gen == _queueGeneration) _suppressIndexUpdates = false;
       }
       debugPrint('audio_handler: backward fill ($initialIndex) '
           '${sw.elapsedMilliseconds}ms');