Ranking Taylor Swift Albums: A (Subjective) Guide to the Woman of the Hour
Building up the Eras hype — plot twist: Debut is at the top
Just kidding, Debut is not at the top. But who surely is is Taylor Swift herself. I cannot think of a superstar who has ever held as much cultural influence than Taylor right now. Maybe Madonna or Britney Spears in their time. Maybe Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa, or Miley Cyrus have each gone up there on a lesser scale. But I bet no other artist has amazed such a large audience as Taylor has. Not in arena crowds, not in album streams, not in video views, not in social media impressions…, and not in achieving an overall pop icon, legendary status. Taylor Swift is likely going to make the history books, so I might as well revisit the magnificent eras that have built her colossal legacy.
10. Taylor Swift (2006)
Let me say something: the album does not suck. It is just Taylor’s worst album because Taylor is a musical genius. And this album is part of that genius too. I related a lot to I’m Only Me When I’m With You. Should’ve Said No and Our Song are perfect surprise songs for the Eras Tour, which lyrics I picture perfectly being shouted out in an arena. Yes, there’s the homophobia controversy in Picture to Burn. But it shows that Taylor has grown as an artist, given songs like You Need to Calm Down in Lover. Besides, rock icons like Amy Winehouse have gotten away with the same thing. Just look at her song Stronger than Me. I think this album is a brilliant effort by a 16-year-old writer! And some songs bring the listener back to their high school’s finest moments. This album shows how Taylor has always been a prodigy, and, for that only, this album is a gift.
9. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2008) (re-recorded in 2021)
I think we can all agree: the hits we all know from this album are god-tier. How can anyone not listen Love Story and You Belong With Me without shouting out loud all the song through? Furthermore, Fifteen and Fearless are classic, heartwarming accounts that are very relatable to our teenage years. This era has definitely earned its spot on the classic section of pop culture. However, unlike the 30-song-long Red, I found this album hard to go through. Red is exciting, Red blends genres in a flawless manner, Red is the art of a master. And Fearless surely is too, especially considering she released this album at age 18. However, the album relies heavily on country pop. It is not a bad thing, it is a very solid album. But it does get monotonous after 26 songs in a row.
8. 1989 (2014)
To be honest, I listened to this album for the first time after I finished Red. And I thought this album was very bad in comparison to Red. To date, I always skip songs like Shake It Off, Bad Blood, and Welcome to New York (I’m very sorry). Blank Space is iconic, but I do not revisit the song much. However, 1989 is 1989: it is arguably the most iconic album in the 2010s. And it has some god-tier smashes that save this album from my personal bottom of this list. Style is rhythmic, catchy, and perfect for a summer sunset. So is Wildest Dreams. I once lived a study-abroad situation that makes me relate to the song, and I will always treasure it (especially the Taylor’s Version, I think its one of her best re-recordings). Clean hit quite differently after she talked about her sexual abuse experience in a tour. And New Romantics is a perfect pop effort that deserved to be in the standard version of the album. Overall, this album saves some gems that will always be remembered. And, for that only, this album deserves its place amongst the finest classics of all time.
7. Midnights (2022)
I once went on a date. It was in a giant park last autumn. Though it was one of the best ones of my life, my date arrived one hour late. And here I was, in one of the most beautiful, autumn-like places I have even been. The winds were chilly, the cloudy weather turned the sky orange with the sunset, and there were fall leaves spread all around the grass floor. It was October 21, 2022. So guess what I did in that hour. I listened to the standard version of Midnights all the way through.
Lavender Haze kicked off the album quite strongly. It instantly put me in a better mood. At the same time as the whole world, I could relate to the dark thoughts behind Anti-Hero. And yet, the song matched the good mood, autumn vibes quite perfectly. So did You’re On Your Own Kid and Snow on the Beach (the lesser version of Lana del Rey). And, though Karma did not stand out at the moment, now it is a song I revisit much. I bet we all will remember the album as the years pass by. It will probably be an iconic, quintessential 2020s album. It comes right from the COVID, bedroom pop era. And yet, it symbolizes a new, fresh sound — a new era: the post-pandemic period we all longed for three years ago. And, in the way, as the Eras Tour has shown, it has also established Taylor as the definite pop star of our time.
6. evermore (2020)
To be fair, wherever you place the next two albums in your personal rankings depends largely on taste, not on how good they are. I rank them mid-tier because I listened to these albums back to back, from Debut to Midnights (’Til Dawn Edition). And I felt I had to go out of my way to truly get the folklorian woods universe. They were not instant, easy delights, as the rest of her albums. And both of these albums are as monotonous as they are cohesive, which kind of falls into the trends Taylor followed in her first two albums.
But that is not a bad thing at all when it comes to these sister albums. I once heard someone did not like Taylor Swift because her lyrics were too basic. And these albums prove that person totally wrong. Taylor made a bold move with these pair of albums, which turn away from pop and become the closest they can be to literary anthologies. By its end, Evermore brings lust, murders, revenge stories, fraud, loveless affairs, heartbreak, and hope into its narratives. Besides, the songs have more dynamic melodies than Folklore does, since the album is more experimental. If you are seeking for music that reveals a magic, surreal universe within itself, this album is for you. However, if you are looking for radio-friendly pop to bright up your day, it might be best to pick other album in this list.
5. folklore (2020)
“I’m doing good, I’m on some new shit”. That is how Taylor kicks off this album, and it sure lives by that motto. I believe there is a factor that has made Taylor Swift the biggest pop star of these times: she has reflected her albums’ timely context quite right. Reputation answered to a political time where female activism began to gain notoriety. Lover answered to a United States that was ran by Trump. Midnights was a return to pop shape after the lockdown. And Folklore has become the main reference of how music was made in the pandemic. The album is a sign of the times, which is something that symbolizes Taylor Swift’s power in the music industry. Folklore’s influence has inspired a new generation of musicians; it shows that the EDM reign is over and that, in this decade, unconventional genres that were previously overlooked by the American music industry are now on the horizon. This album shows why Taylor is a trendsetter, and why she has been so for a long time now.
Probably, this album is to thank for Taylor’s current peak. It broke several records and it amazed a large audience. Probably, Taylor had not had an album with this much cultural influence since 1989. And, much like Evermore, its themes and ingenious are rich. American history, ghosts, funerals, abuse, wealthy socialites, love triangles… Taylor broadened her narrative voice to introduce us to a whole new world, to a new forest that had not been seen before. Unlike most mainstream artists today, Taylor invites us, its audience, to exercise a bit of our imagination in her lyrics. And, for that only, this album is one of the finest pieces of art in the 2020s.
4. Reputation (2017)
Say whatever you want about Look What You Made Me Do, but I think the subject matter of this album is objectively admirable. Say whatever you want about Taylor Swift’s political shifting and ambiguity. But this album is a stand against mysogyny and unfair treatment of female artists. Consumed as a full body of work, it astonishes when put right after 1989. …Ready For It? is one of the strongest album debuts I have ever listened to. It instantly tells you that Taylor Swift and Fearless were a lifetime ago, and that she is now facing a darker, edgier era. It follows by a tracklist that blends R&B, hip-hop, EDM, and bubblegum pop quite perfectly. To Me, Dancing With Our Hands Tied stands out. I know swiftie friends of mine that hold Getaway Car as one of their favorite Taylor Swift songs of all time. And New Year’s Day is the perfect closure on a hard era of facing controversy, and a new beginning that is further described on Lover. After the Kanye West and the #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty controversies, Taylor came back stronger than ever before, and for that only, this album is a gift.
3. Lover (2019)
Some people describe 1989 as the quintessential pop record of the 2010s, but I think that is because Lover was largely overlooked. Can we think of a song that captures the sunset euphoria vibe better than Cruel Summer? Can we think of a better bridge section than the one in Cruel Summer? Can we think of a better underrated pop song than Cruel Summer?! I cannot.
Taylor said goodbye to her twenties— and her contract deal with Scooter Braun — with one of the finest pop records in recent history. We can see its influence well into the bedroom pop genre that has dominated the 2020s, such as Olivia Rodrigo’s SOUR. Despite of songs like ME! and I Forgot That You Existed (though the latter makes sense as an album opener and a transition from the Reputation era), the album also holds some of her greatest songs: Lover, The Man, Death by a Thousand Cuts… I could go on! And their beauty is more apparent in spaces like her Tiny Desk concert. After she got snubbed from the Big 4 Grammys with Reputation, Taylor made Lover while bearing in mind the goal for it to be better than Reputation. I think she succeded. And, while doing so, she made one of her best albums yet. It has, without a doubt, lived on from its release, and it will, likely, also become a classic album that will be remembered through the annals of music history. Definitely a highlight for this (and any) summer.
2. Speak Now (2010) (about to be re-recorded in 2023)
This album contains Never Grow Up, followed by Enchanted. Isn’t that reason enough to place it as high as I can? Honestly, who does not cry the first time they listen to Never Grow Up? Meanwhile, Enchanted sounds like it was carved out of a fairytale, of a dream…, it seems like Taylor has described, with this song, something that almost no one has been able to fully put into words: what it is like to fall in love. This is an album completely written by her, which shows she is one of the greatest songwriters that have ever lived. Besides these poetic, dreamy masterpieces, there are also some god-tier, smash songs: Dear John, The Story of Us, Mine, Back to December, Mean… I could go on. This album is the reason I felt I needed to listen to her entire discography. Yes, Better Than Revenge is not the most feminist song, but it shows how much Taylor has grown as an artist, but also as a person, since 2010. Speak Now is a masterpiece, if you ask me. I cannot wait to listen to this album again, this time in her full domain.
1. Red (Taylor’s Version (2012) (re-recorded in 2021)
Whoever still has a doubt Taylor Swift can make good music has not listened Red in its entirety. To be honest, I did not know most of the songs beyond the singles when I was going through Taylor’s discography. However, I was amazed by the entirety of this album. In State of Grace and Red, I was astonished as I realized EDM and country music could be mixed so beautifully. Meanwhile, Ronan, All Too Well, and Everything Has Changed each are so powerful. They transcend the banality some people claim pop lyrics often have, and they each touch the deepest nerves, chills, and emotions music can enable to human beings. From death, to heartbreak, to nostalgia, to dancing like we are 22, this album is a range of stories that symphatize with everyone who listens well. And, can we say the singles are music perfection? I Knew You Were Trouble, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together… And can we also talk about the great guestlist we have on this album? Gary Lightbody…, PHOEBE BRIDGERS? If I said Fearless felt monotonous with 26 songs, I was stunned to see how Taylor Swift fit so much of the human experience in only 30 songs here, in Red. Forever her best album, to my opinion. But of course, I believe this ranking is far from over. Taylor Swift is here to stay. And I cannot wait to see what comes next.