 <p>I assume that you meant to return the <code>list</code> local variable that you declare in the <code>returnLists</code> function. What you'll be getting back is actually the class variable, also called <code>list</code>. This is because the local <code>list</code> variable has gone out of context by the time the code reaches your return statement (the local <code>list</code> variable is within the context of the <code>try</code> block you have declared). If you want to return the value from the local <code>list</code> variable change the first couple of lines of <code>returnLists</code> to this:</p> <pre><code>public List returnLists(String fileN) { mp3Lister woww = null; String fName; String lName; mp3Lister qwewq; List list = new LinkedList(); try { </code></pre> <p>and then remove the declaration of the <code>list</code> variable inside the try block.</p>