I would reccomend you use the term 'interactive routing' rather than 'autorouting', cos if you autoroute a board , as you have found from your initial trial, you do not get the reulsts you expected. You have to split the design into sections and route each one according to importance, this will include manual routing of critical nets, quite often. A rough guide is:
1: Power and Ground
2: Critical nets, clocks etc, quite often better manualy routed and fixed
3: point to point SMD, very simple signals that go from one pad to another, dependant on placement. A quick router pass single sided with no vias allowed and very little effort.
4: Busses and length ciritical routes, including any length matching.
5: The left overs, ie non critical signals.
6: Manual tidy up