iPod question / problem ... anyone?

Before I go running to the Apple Store like a kid ready to snitch on her sibling ... I thought I'd bring up this iPod issue here - in case anyone else has had it, and knows the remedy.

This is the deal: My iPod has been skipping over a few songs - songs that it has played before with no problems.

(a) Is it something with the file itself?
(b) Should I burn the songs onto a CD, delete them from my computer, and then re-upload them?
(c) Is this an iPod problem, unrelated to the .mp3 or .aac files ... something that'll make me grateful that I have AppleCare on the damn thing?

Thank you all! :-)