One of my favorite artists is a lovely person named Taylor Swift. Despite the mess that was last year, she released two amazing albums – both of which were surprises to the public. Due to both quarantine and winter break, I listened to all of her albums, both old and new alike. So, I decided, why not rank all her albums? As a disclaimer, I love all these albums and about ninety-nine percent of her music – there are just albums I like more than others. Without further ado, here’s a ranking of Taylor Swift’s albums, worst to best.
- Debut/Taylor Swift
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I know, ranking her first album as her worst is depressing. However, in comparison to her other albums, I don’t think it is as amazing. The singles from this album, Tim McGraw, Teardrops on My Guitar, Our Song, Picture to Burn, and Should’ve Said No, remain beautiful starter singles that still bop.
- Red
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Putting Red second to last physically hurt me. It’s one of my favorite albums of hers, but after re-listening to it, I realized the album is kind of a mess, tracklist wise. There’s no true vibe to it, the same way there is to other albums. Its singles, which include, 22, I Knew You Were Trouble, Begin Again, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Red, Everything Has Changed, and The Last Time has both amazing songs in them and less great ones.
- Lover
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Putting Lover here also really hurts, mostly because I love all the non-singles in the album. However, due to its choice of singles, it sits at the third lowest. Lover is the best of the three singles off of Lover, (the others are ME!, The Man and You Need to Calm Down) but I don’t like the others. However, the rest of the tracklist is beautiful and makes me wish that I was in love so I could appreciate it all the more.
- Reputation
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Reputation is an album that grew on me. When it dropped, I hated it. It was so different from her previous albums and I thought the vibe was off. (I also didn’t really like the lead single, Look What You Made Me Do). Over time, however, I began to adore this album. Songs like Don’t Blame Me, I Did Something Bad, and Dress are some of my favorites. Despite my new love for it, I still don’t think it is as good as the ones after it.
- Fearless
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Putting Fearless here hurts, as I would argue this album really catapulted Swift’s stardom. These singles are iconic, timeless songs including Love Story, White Horse, Fearless, You Belong With Me, and Fifteen. There are other amazing hits on here but future albums have a much more concrete sound.
- 1989
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Honestly, I love this album. Like her previous ones, her singles are amazing and really bring the whole album together. These include hits like Bad Blood, Blank Space, Style, Wildest Dreams, Out of the Woods, New Romantics, and Shake It Off. Her non-singles are fantastic as well, allowing me to listen to them repeatedly without getting tired of them.
- Evermore
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This may just be the recency effect, but Evermore is amazing. Released on her thirty-first birthday as a surprise, Evermore shocked everyone. It has a similar folky sound similar to Folklore and I adored that album. There’s only one song on this album I generally skip (my deepest apologies to Cowboy Like Me) and every song really brings the whole concept of the album together. The singles which include, willow, no body no crime, and coney island are all gorgeous songs.
- Speak Now
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Ranking these albums was difficult, but ranking my top three was even more so. Speak Now is the only album of hers I have on a CD and I poured over the liner notes when it was released. Swift wrote this entire album herself and it still holds up to this day. The singles, Mine, Mean, Ours, Speak Now, and Back to December all did amazingly well, and Mean ended up winning a Grammy. It’s an amazing album with beautiful lyricism.
- Folklore
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With many music critics hailing Folklore as the album of 2020, I had to include it as her best album. Folklore was so not what I expect from her and every song is hauntingly beautiful. The singles, cardigan, exile, the 1, and betty feel timeless and wonderful.
That’s my ranking, folks! It’s ranking that changes consistently but this was how I felt about the albums today!