How to avoid using subfolders in libraries and use views to show all data

Hi all

I am very new to Sharepoint design so hopefully I can explain what I need properly.

I have a sharepoint site which I upload a lot of data to. Most of the data I can categorise into subfolders (Location and Year). Instead of having the same subfolders in each library I wanted the user to select the Location and Year they want from a dropdown and then refresh a List webpart based on their requirements.

Is this easy to do?

Would I have to create new columns called Location and Year in order to do this?

Thanks for any help

Raiyan