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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Aberdeen chapter.

taylor swift repuatation album cover
Photo by Raphael Lovaski from Unsplash

Taylor Swift has a pretty extensive discography. Her recent release, folklore, was her eighth studio album! I’ve always wanted to try and figure out a ranking of all of her songs, but it’s a pretty big undertaking if you include all of her non-album singles too. However, in quarantine we had all the time in the world, so I decided that it was time to rank every Taylor Swift song!

  

I excluded (simply for an easy life): live versions, acoustic versions, non-featured remixes (I do not care about Clean Bandit’s remix of You Need to Calm Down), duets that I don’t care about, and some of her older songs that have been lost to time. The majority of the songs on this list can be found on her Spotify, but Scooter Braun gets all of the royalties pre-Lover, so stream at your peril. If you really want to get back into Taylor’s older music, buy second-hand versions of her albums online so the money won’t go to men trying to capitalise off of her career! If I forgot any songs it means they weren’t memorable enough to be anywhere near the top xo

 

Not worth your time – John Mayer

 

‘Christmases When You Were Mine’, ‘Santa Baby’, ‘Silent Night’, ‘Christmas Must Be Something More’, ‘White Christmas’, ‘Last Christmas’ – The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection (2007) – This entire EP is horrible, don’t listen to it 

 

‘Beautiful Ghosts’ – Cats Soundtrack (2019) – Noooo

 

‘Bad Blood’ – 1989 (2014) – I hate everything about this song. It feels insulting that this was included on 1989, it’s not worth such an honour

 

‘End Game (feat. Ed Sheeran and Future)’ – Reputation (2017) – There are very few things in the world that are worse than this song x 

 

‘Superman’ – Speak Now Deluxe (2010) – No thank u

 

‘Only the Young’ – (2020) – There’s a reason this was dropped from Lover, it’s awful x

 

‘Superstar’ – Fearless Platinum Edition (2009) – It’s boring oopsies!

 

‘Innocent’ – Speak Now (2010) – She should’ve left the Kanye drama at the VMA’s rather than writing this awful song x

 

‘Come in With the Rain’ – Fearless Platinum Edition (2009) – I have nothing to say, she’s forgettable! 

 

‘Two Is Better Than One (feat. Boys Like Girls)’ – Love Drunk (2009) – It has nostalgic value but that’s about it

 

‘Sad Beautiful Tragic’ – Red (2012) – Compared to the rest of Red, this song has no relevance or personality

 

‘A Perfectly Good Heart’ – Taylor Swift Deluxe (2008) – Major skip

 

‘Bad Blood Remix (feat. Kendrick Lamar)’ – (2015) – A minor improvement on the original disaster 

 

‘I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (feat. Zayn)’ – Fifty Shades Darker (2017) – I don’t hate it, but I never listen to it, it just exists  

 

‘Both of Us (feat. B.O.B.)’ – (2012) – This is a bit of a bop, but I can’t let a flat earther get any higher

 

‘It’s Nice to Have a Friend’ – Lover (2019) – Stream this song because all of the streaming revenue goes to a children’s choir in Toronto, but put it on mute 

 

‘Today Was a Fairytale’ – (2009) – Peak 2009 nostalgia x

 

‘Lover ft. Shawn Mendes (Remix)’ – (2019) – This was pointless! I love Shawn and Taylor, but he didn’t add anything to the song, it flopped x

 

‘I Forgot That You Existed’ – Lover (2019) – She should’ve left the Kanye drama behind in the Reputation era 

 

 

Low – Jake Gyllenhaal 

  

‘The Outside’ – Taylor Swift (2006) – Her voice is weirdly squeaky in this, it puts me off ever wanting to listen to it

 

‘Invisible’ – Taylor Swift Deluxe (2008) – I have nothing to say here, it’s very vanilla 

 

‘Cold As You’ – Taylor Swift (2006) – This song has aged badly, it’s so boring to listen to

 

‘Better Than Revenge’ – Speak Now (2010) – This song is so catty I can’t deal with it, it’s not good

 

‘Highway Don’t Care (feat. Tim McGraw and Keith Urban)’ – Two Lanes of Freedom (2013) – Low because she only has like 3 lines. Do yourself a favour and listen to this yeehaw jam though it’s a bop

 

‘Welcome to New York’ – 1989 (2014) – A solid opening to an album but difficult to listen to on its own cos it’s not very good x

 

‘This Love’ – 1989 (2014) – It’s okay I guess

 

‘Change’ – Fearless (2008) – The only version of this song that is actually good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIUN6uA8hyM  

 

‘epiphany’ – folklore (2020) – Honestly, it’s boring! Sorry!

 

‘So It Goes…’ – Reputation (2017) – She tried to be Wildest Dreams but failed 

 

‘This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things’ – Reputation (2017) – Good tour closer! 

 

‘Girl at Home’ – Red Deluxe (2012) – This is consistently voted one of her worst songs as it’s weirdly slutshamey, however it’s not THE worst out there! 

 

‘Mean’ – Speak Now (2010) – It may have won 2 Grammys but that doesn’t make it good 

 

‘How You Get the Girl’ – 1989 (2014) – The live version? Amazing! Studio? A skip 

 

‘Stay Stay Stay’ – Red (2012) – This song is what I can imagine a cup of tea with sugar tastes like, I like this song but the puke-inducing lyrics and subtle hints at domestic violence make me want to die 

 

‘Gorgeous’ – Reputation (2017) – It’s only this high because of her cats 

 

 ‘I Think He Knows’ – Lover (2019) – This gives out major Selena Gomez reject vibes 

 

‘Tied together With a Smile’ – Taylor Swift (2006) – I like the message behind this song, but it’s just boring

 

‘Look What You Made Me Do’ – Reputation (2017) – This song is SO stupid I don’t get it 

 

‘London Boy’ – Lover (2019 )– Was cute for like 5 minutes

 

‘Me! (feat. Brendan Urie)’ – Lover (2019) – I have a complicated relationship with this song, it’s not the worst song in the world but it’s a horrific representation of Lover. Any other song on the album should’ve been the lead single

 

‘I Almost Do’ – Red (2012) – Should’ve been replaced by any of the songs from the deluxe edition of Red

 

‘Starlight’ – Red (2012) – Yet another forgettable bop 

 

Mid-Low – Calvin Harris 

 

‘Stay Beautiful’ – Taylor Swift (2006) – This song is sweet but sadly super forgettable  

 

‘Jump Then Fall’ – Fearless Platinum Edition (2009) – Just another cute but forgettable country bop 

 

‘Sweeter Than Fiction’ – One Chance Soundtrack (2013) – A bop that just isn’t as good as its peers 

 

‘Teardrops on My Guitar’ – Taylor Swift (2006) – I don’t know why this song makes me want to claw my eyes out, but it does 

 

‘You’re Not Sorry’ – Fearless (2008) - It just kind of exists, ya know? 

 

‘Everything Has Changed (feat. Ed Sheeran)’ – Red (2012) – I really don’t like Ed, sorry 

 

‘hoax’ – folklore (2020) – She’s a good song on an album that’s filled with songs that are better than her. Sorry x

 

‘A Place in This World’ – Taylor Swift (2006) – A low-key bop when you feel like being dramatic 

 

‘Should’ve Said No’ – Taylor Swift (2006) – Peak angry Taylor 

 

‘Ronan’ – (2012) – I feel rude putting this song so low as its meaning and purpose is beautiful, but I just don’t listen to it. However, I would recommend researching and listening to the song 

 

‘the lakes’ – folklore deluxe (2020) – She’s cute! However, I don’t know why she wrote a song about the Lake District and didn’t mention Lakeland, she’s missing out on some fab Tupperware!

 

‘If This Was a Movie’ – Speak Now Deluxe (2010) – Skip! 

 

‘The Lucky One’ – Red (2012) – I forgot about this one ngl x

 

‘False God’ – Lover (2019) – Grew old after like 4 listens oopsies

 

‘Haunted’ – Speak Now (2010) – This song is so dramatic I cannot take it seriously, it does slap tho

 

‘Eyes Open’ – Hunger Games Soundtrack (2012) – An underrated jam which I forget exists 99.9% of the time 

 

‘peace’ – folklore (2020) – When you remember it exists, she’s cute

 

‘The Best Day’ – Fearless (2008) – Makes me cry so I skip 

 

‘the last great american dynasty’ – folklore (2020) – Best lyric Taylor has ever written: “and in a feud with her neighbour she stole his dog and died it key lime green” 

 

‘Dress’ – Reputation (2017) – Yet another attempt to recreate Wildest Dreams 

 

‘The Man’ – Lover (2019) – I wish this was better! 

 

Mid – Conor Kennedy 

 

‘22’ – Red (2012) – I hope the f**k u do!!!!!!

 

‘Treacherous’ – Red (2012) – This should be higher, but I forget about it sometimes oops 

 

‘Hey Stephen’ – Fearless (2008) – I don’t hate it but it isn’t good?  

 

‘White Horse’ – Fearless (2008) – Peaked when it was played on Grey’s Anatomy 

 

‘Speak Now’ – Speak Now (2010) – Sassy? Yes! Cute? Yes! Forgettable? Yes! Hotel? Trivago! 

 

‘mad woman’ – folklore (2020) – Question to the culture: does Lana still have a career after this?

 

‘Cornelia Street’ – Lover (2019) – Is it a copy and paste of ‘Delicate’? Yes. Am I angry about it? Yes.

 

‘The Way I Loved You’ – Fearless (2008) – This song is like a weird pop-up on your computer that never goes away, she’s fun though!

 

‘Afterglow’ – Lover (2019) – Walmart version of ‘Daylight’ 

 

‘Dancing With Our Hands Tied’ – Reputation (2017) – She’s got a good bridge

 

‘You Need to Calm Down’ – Lover (2019) – Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it. It all depends on my mood x 

 

‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ – Red (2012) – A cultural reset!

 

‘You Are in Love’ – 1989 Deluxe (2014) – Cute but a skip 

 

‘The Story of Us’ – Speak Now (2010) – The live version of this pops off! 

 

‘The Moment I Knew’ – Red Deluxe (2012) – A classic deluxe track. Not bad, but not main album worthy

 

‘Back To December’ – Speak Now (2010) – This song confuses me, is it good or not? We will never know 

 

‘Crazier’ – Hannah Montana Movie Soundtrack (2009) – The nostalgia is real with this one. Crowley Corners was shook to its core after miss Taylor sang this jam at the Hoedown Throwdown

 

‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ – Red (2012) – A timeless bop that also would be insulting good music to put any higher 

 

‘Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince’ – Lover (2019) – Sounds too much like the title of a Harry Potter book for me to feel comfortable  

 

‘Untouchable’ – Fearless Platinum Edition (2009) – Sadly this song is so low because it’s a cover, I love it though 

 

‘Shake It Off’ – 1989 (2014) – I love this song! It may be generic pop trash but it’s GOOD

 

‘Mine’ – Speak Now (2010) – Cute if you’re in the mood 

 

‘Begin Again’ – Red (2012) – Ending an album with a song called ‘Begin Again’? Genius!

 

Mid-Top – Tom Hiddleston 

  

‘Christmas Tree Farm’ – (2019) – 10/10 Christmas vibes

 

‘…Ready for It?’ – Reputation (2017) – This song is so stupid, but I do regularly scream the lyrics in the car 

 

‘mirrorball’ – folklore (2020) – The disco vibes? I cannot handle the talent 

 

‘Death by a Thousand Cuts’ – Lover (2019) – LYRICAL GENIUS! We are not worthy of such a good bridge, she is too talented x

 

‘I Know Places’ – 1989 (2014) – Haylor come throughhhhhh

 

‘invisible strings’ – folklore (2020) – makes me want to sit in a park, which is good

 

‘Fearless’ – Fearless (2008) – This makes you feel all soppy inside  

 

‘You Belong with Me’ – Fearless (2008) – ICONIC 

 

‘betty’ – folklore (2020) – A wholesome yeehaw throwback

 

‘Picture to Burn’ – Taylor Swift (2006) – If you weren’t yeehaw before, you are now 

 

‘Tell Me Why’ – Fearless (2009) – Bit of a rogue choice to be so high, but it’s one of her best yeehaw bops 

 

‘New Year’s Day’ – Reputation (2017) – cute!

 

‘The Other Side of the Door’ – Fearless Platinum (2009) – The bridge of this song is too good

 

‘Fifteen’ – Fearless (2008) – I recently found a new love for this song, it’s so good 

 

‘Never Grow Up’ – Speak Now (2010) – Wow, yet another tearjerker! 

 

‘Paper Rings’ – Lover (2019) – As a concept this makes me feel sick, yet I jam to it regularly? 

 

‘Wildest Dreams’ – 1989 (2014) – An absolute classic! 

 

‘Dear John’ – Speak Now (2010) – John Mayer was destroyed after this song was released, she truly did THAT 

 

‘Blank Space’ – 1989 (2014) – Something fun! Something for the summertime! 

 

Top Tier – Taylor Lautner 

 

‘Long Live’ – Speak Now (2010) – A whole song about her band and fans? Incredible!

 

‘State of Grace’ – Red (2012) – Her strongest album/tour opener, it’s amazing 

 

‘Breathe’ – Fearless (2008) – One of the best non-single tracks on Fearless, I said what I said! 

 

‘Ours’ – Speak Now Deluxe (2010 )– I heard this song once in Build-a-Bear and lost my mind!

 

‘Love Story’ – Fearless (2010) – Can do no wrong!

 

‘seven’ – folklore (2020) – Gorgeous

 

‘Call It What You Want’ – Reputation (2017) – I cry at this regularly! 

 

‘Mary’s Song (Oh My My My)’ – Taylor Swift (2006) – SO GOOD 

 

‘Forever and Always’ – Fearless (2009) – She really didn’t have to go so hard with this one, but she did x 

 

‘Tim McGraw’ – Taylor Swift (2006 )– A chill country jam I regularly get emotional to because I’m weak! 

 

‘this is me trying’ – folklore (2020) – Second best Taylor lyric: “I got wasted like all my potential”

 

‘Safe & Sound’ – Hunger Games Soundtrack (2012) – This was the first ‘modern’ Taylor song I remember loving, representing the ghost of Prim walking on the graves of all the victims of the capitol? Showstopping 

 

‘Last Kiss’ – Speak Now (2010) – I can’t believe she created July the 9th. What a talent

 

‘King of My Heart’ – Reputation (2017) – This was another grower! I hated it for so long, but now it’s a staple in my tswift listening experience x 

 

‘Soon You’ll Get Better’ – Lover (2019) – So beautiful and emotionally touching, we love Andrea Swift x  

 

‘The Last Time (feat. Gary Lightbody)’ – Red (2012) – The eerie romantic vibe to this is so good, Gary Lightbody popped off with this one

 

‘I’m Only Me When I’m With You’ – Taylor Swift Deluxe (2008) – The underrated bop of the century, this goes off 

 

‘Come Back… Be Here’ – Red Deluxe (2012) – Should’ve been included in the main edition of Red, sorry ‘Sad Beautiful Tragic’ 

 

‘Out of The Woods’ – 1989 (2014) – Combines everything good about 1989 into one absolute bop 

 

‘cardigan’ – folklore (2020) – The volume of tears I produce whilst listening to this song is, dare I say, astronomical!

 

‘Holy Ground’ – Red (2012) – An absolute jam that got the respect from Taylor it deserved 

 

‘the 1’ – folklore (2020) – POV: Blair Waldorf writing in her diary the night before she marries prince Louis Grimaldi (puke)

 

‘I Wish You Would’ – 1989 (2014) – She’s SO underrated!

 

‘Wonderland’ – 1989 Deluxe (2014) – This song was robbed from being a hit, the music video and aesthetics could’ve been incredible!

 

‘august’ – folklore (2020) – This song grew on me. She’s a masterpiece

 

The Holy Experience – Joe Alwyn 

  

‘Our Song’ – Taylor Swift (2006) – The fact that she was 15 when she wrote this?? Her talent is ridiculous

 

‘my tears ricochet’ – folklore (2020) – Incredible! Showstopping! Talented! Brilliant! Never been done before! Not afraid to reference or not reference!

 

‘The Archer’ – Lover (2019) – brb I’m crying at this song AGAIN! The lines “all of my enemies started out friends” and “I hate my reflection for years and years” hit SO hard! It ain’t cool to hate Taylor anymore xo

 

‘I Did Something Bad’ – Reputation (2017) – Calcium Harris had NO self-esteem after this was released. She said yes to calling men out!! A certified icon!

 

‘Enchanted’ – Speak Now (2010) – This song makes you feel like a princess running around a fairy garden in a pretty dress, which is exactly what you want from any song tbh

 

‘All You Had To Do Was Stay’ – 1989 (2014) – Pop genius!

 

‘Sparks Fly’ – Speak Now (2010) – This song is peak early Taylor. It’s a cute, Disney-inspired, country-pop jam that I personally have spent half of my life listening to x

 

‘New Romantics’ – 1989 Deluxe (2014) – This has to be the best chorus she has ever written. Why was it put on the deluxe edition!? She should’ve been the first song on the standard edition! I blame Scott Borchetta for this mistreatment

 

Clean – 1989 (2014) – This song did something to my little 14-year-old brain that I can’t explain, once you hear this song you will never be able to leave it alone

 

‘Delicate’ – Reputation (2017) – 123 LET’S GOoooo

 

‘Daylight’ – Lover (2019) – I reckon when you enter heaven this is what you hear 

 

‘Style’ – 1989 (2014) – The power of this song is astronomical. She does not age

 

‘exile (feat. Bon Iver)’ – folklore (2020) – This song doesn’t have any business being as good as it is. She’s an absolute masterpiece, I love you x

 

‘Lover’ – Lover (2019) – Somehow Taylor managed to mix the nostalgia of her old songs and the pop influences of her new albums to create this masterpiece. I have no complaints!

 

‘illicit affairs’ – folklore (2020) – This song is a whole lifestyle. It’s just so perfect, it doesn’t have a single flaw. 1000000000/10 

 

‘Getaway Car’ – Reputation (2017) – Every second of this masterpiece is incredible. Thank u Mr. Tom Hiddleston for inspiring such a good song xxx

 

‘Red’ – Red (2012) – Such an underrated GEM! This song is just too good. From the perfect backing vocals to the God-tier bridge, Taylor really changed the music industry with this icon

 

‘Cruel Summer’ – Lover (2019) – I love this song so much it makes me feel sick x  

 

‘All Too Well’ – Red (2012)- No explanation is needed. It’s incredible

 

‘Don’t Blame Me’ – Reputation (2017) – Genius! This song has no flaws, it’s an entire holy experience. She really said: let’s destroy the girlies! And she did x

 

The moral of the story is: if you’re going to listen to Taylor, avoid her most popular tracks with billions of views. Instead, dive into her underrated and forgotten songs as this is usually where her true talent shows. Taylor gets a lot of bad press for creating generic pop music, but the majority of her songs are well written and maturely produced tracks. Every song is a diary entry and comes from her heart. Even though I trashed some of her songs, each one (apart from ‘Bad Blood’) is the result of her own individual talent and not a massive song writing team. We’re in 2020 now and we appreciate real talent, it’s not trendy to hate on talented women anymore!

Lucy Clarkson

Aberdeen '21

Poltitics & Sociology student
Second year Psychology student @ University of Aberdeen