You never mentioned your Outlook version.
Most now use the "By Category" view for this purpose.

Signature
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
>I know I can do a custom sort, but I should be able to sort just by
>clicking
> the categories button at the top of the contacts list in Phone List View.
Right-click the Categories column heading and choose Group By This Field.
Because Categories is a keywords field, a sort would be meaningless.

Signature
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx
>I know I can do a custom sort, but I should be able to sort just by
>clicking
> the categories button at the top of the contacts list in Phone List View.