The problem here is conventions and consistency. Everywhere else in the operation system (and in virtually every other cataloging system), symbols and numbers are sorted before letters. Even in the new versions of iTunes, the list of available playlists is sorted symbols -> numbers -> letters, and yet the track browser uses some bizarro-land sorting method.
I've been using iTunes since before Apple bought it (and it was called SoundJam MP). That's a long time to engrain into one's head that '2Pac' and '.38 Special' are at the top of the list, not the bottom. Completely shirking user expectations and common conventions is a very poor choice, especially in the name of 'aesthetics'.