wiring experts

My car battery was reversed, the positive wire was on negative on the batery and the negative wire was on positive on the battery, and everything was fine, but i didnt understand why it was reversed so I tryed to put em the way they're supposed to go and the negative wire started smokin.... and so i pulled it out of there... and i put them in regular way again(reversed +on- and -on+) and for some strange reason my cd player stoped working... i'd like some help on that please... and if you cant help me do u think if I go to a stereo place they will know what's wrong? thanks alot

Sounds to me like someone had a trip to the auto parts store and purchased new cables. Did you, or did you have someone replace your battery cables? Or perhaps you just recently aquired the vehicle and the previous owner had replaced the cables.

Once you know your cables are connected correctly, you may need to check that you didn't fry the diodes in your alternator by hooking up the battery backwards. Start the vehicle, then disconnect the battery while the motor is still running. The engine should continue to run if the alternator is putting out. Reconnect the battery. Now connect a voltage meter to the battery with the vehicle still running. Voltage should not be any higher than 14.4 volts (preferably 13.8). If the voltage runs any higher than that, replace the alternator because you will boil the battery away.