Have you ever changed WMP settings to stop it going online when you rip stuff? It should ask you the first time you ever use it. Otherwise, depending on your version, go somewhere like tools, options, library, "retrieve additional information from the internet".
It's also possible to add the metatags to existing files, but it's a bit laborious, and then re-order your library according to the new tags but you need to start hitting the help button for that.
This ID3 metatag stuff isn't all that difficult to master: it's the the audio equivalent of EXIF data for jpeg files. You can adjust your folder headings to show all this tag info when you browse your folders, to get an idea of what it's all about.
Edit: here you go: not saying this fixes your exact issue, but
this is the sort of thing you can do with WMP.