It’s no secret that Taylor Swift has written several show-stopping and award-winning albums over the course of her career. Her albums have seen varying levels of popularity in the years since. Some have a strong staying power due to the nostalgia associated with them or the songwriting expertise they exhibit. Others stand out because they represent a deviation in style or sound. But one thing is for certain; everyone has a different opinion on what constitutes a “correct” ranking of her works. If an album is at the bottom of one person’s ranking, it’s sure to be at the top of someone else’s, and vice versa. I think this speaks to the versatility of her work that different people are able to connect with different albums. Each person’s personal experiences around listening to her music have played a role in how they rank these albums.
For me, nostalgia, storytelling, and lyricism play the greatest role in how I rank TS 1-9. So, without further ado, here is my personal ranking of the Taylor Swift albums.
9. 1989
This album is at somewhat of an unfair disadvantage with me, simply because it came out during a time when I was not listening to Taylor Swift on a regular basis. When I listened to this album later, I thought it was fun and adventurous, and I gained a greater appreciation for some of the hits that I remembered from its original days. However, this album still wasn’t able to push past the albums I was more familiar with in order to achieve a higher ranking. Favorite songs: “Out of the Woods,” “Blank Space,” “Clean”
8. Fearless
I remember listening to songs from this album on my iPod shuffle when I was about eleven years old and spending my turn on the computer looking up the music videos to “Fifteen” and “You Belong With Me.” I sang songs from this album with my friends on the playground in elementary school. This album holds a lot of nostalgia for me and serves as a reminder that a lot of us in Gen Z have really grown up listening to Taylor’s music. But she’s definitely developed as an artist since her early days, and it was only after this album that she was able to break out into more creative songwriting and storytelling.
Favorite songs: “You Belong With Me,” “Love Story,” “The Way I Loved You”
7. Red
This was the second Taylor Swift CD I owned. Shout out to my dad for letting me play this CD in the car on the way to school in the morning when I was in middle school. This album has a lot of strong songs in no specific order. It’s not as cohesive as some of her other tracklists, but I don’t necessarily think that this is a problem, especially when the songs are more than strong enough to stand on their own. Even though this album tends to be on the low side of most rankings, some of her most popular songs of all time are from this album. Her songwriting has matured in this album, and the early roots of that heart-wrenching folklore/evermore sound can be found in the deep cuts. I also really enjoy the more upbeat songs and singles from this album (yes, even “Stay, Stay, Stay”).
Favorite Songs: “All Too Well” (of course), “The Last Time,” “The Lucky One”
6. folklore
I know this seems low, but I think that it speaks more to the strength of her other albums than it does to anything that this album specifically lacks. I was so shook when this dropped in the middle of July. It was the only music I listened to for a couple of weeks after it came out. I loved the more subtle and subdued sound, as well as the stronger emphasis on storytelling in this album. Unfortunately, I think I listened to it too many times at once, and I am currently having to take a short break from it so that it will feel more “fresh” when I get a chance to revisit it. I still think this is a really strong album, and I love how she has continued to explore this sound in evermore.
Favorite songs: “betty,” “the last great american dynasty,” “the lakes”
5. Taylor Swift, a.k.a. Debut
I know I just said that she’s grown as an artist since her early days. She has, and the rest of this list 100% reflects that I promise. But this album is so iconic that to rank it any lower would be a crime. I like to base my enjoyment of music on a scale of how much I love to scream a song at the top of my lungs in a car, and this album is full of belt-worthy tracks. It’s got ballads, it’s got break up songs, and even in this very first album, it has the early trademarks of that classic Taylor Swift storytelling lyricism. Even if it’s been years since the last time I listened to certain songs on this album, I can still remember every word, and I consider this to be a no-skip album. I typically do not love country, but y’all can rip Debut out of my cold dead hands, fake southern accent and all.
Favorite songs: “Picture To Burn,” “Should’ve Said No,” “Cold As You”
4. evermore
I’m not sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but I tend to prefer the second sister in the folklore/evermore pair of albums. I feel like it tells a more cohesive story, it’s more diverse in terms of sound, and it shows development on that sound that I liked so much in folklore. I loved the return to country on track 6, and the theme of how the people we love affect us even as we drift away from them. The imagery in the lyrics on this album is stunning. It is a beautiful winter album.
Favorite songs: “ivy,” “no body no crime,” “gold rush”
3. Lover
It is jam after jam on this album. The aesthetics are beautiful, the lyrics are great and span from funny and playful to deep and poetic. I love how it lets go of some of the frustration and anger in Reputation but still retains the same sense of catharsis. It revels in the joy of finding love and wanting to keep it but still refuses to pull its punches when it comes to difficult topics, like the fear of losing someone due to circumstances. I also enjoyed how this album was not only about romantic relationships, but about family and friends as well. This album is well rounded and balanced, and the ending message of “I want to be known for what I love” gives me chills every time.
Favorite songs: “Cornelia Street,” “Cruel Summer,” “London Boy”
2. Reputation
This album is a masterpiece. I love how empowering the combination of taking control over one’s image and carving out a life for oneself out of the public eye is as the theme of this album. I have only one or two skips on the whole tracklist, and even when I don’t want to listen to the whole thing, there’s a song on this album for almost every mood. This is also one of my favorite eras in terms of aesthetics. The singles for this album were fun, but the deep cuts like “Dress” and “Dancing with our Hands Tied” are where this album really shines. It’s a story about finding what you love and wanting to protect it, and it’s so well done.
Favorite songs: “New Year’s Day,” “Call it What You Want,” “King of my Heart”
1. Speak Now
This album is the perfect blend of nostalgia and raw songwriting talent. The album’s theme of finally saying what you’ve been too afraid to say is so powerful, especially when you consider the fact that she was only 20-years-old when she wrote it. The original tracklist is flawless, and the singles off of this album are some of her best. Going down the tracklist tells a story of how things like relationships and fame build, break, and eventually dissipate depending on whether or not you take a risk and speak up for yourself. It is at the same time deeply personal to her own life and relatable to the listener, from her haunting reflection on a toxic relationship in “Dear John” to her description of bullying in “Mean.” This album took Taylor Swift from a bubbly, young country singer to a songwriter and artist that would have to be taken seriously. Not only does she find her own voice in this album, but she also encourages others to do the same.
Favorite songs: “Last Kiss,” “Story of Us,” “Dear John”