Growing up, I always listened to Taylor Swift. Whether it played at the mall, on the radio, or I was blasting it by my own volition, Taylor Swift songs were always a constant in my life. Now more than ever, I can relate so much to so many of her songs. That being said, I thought it was only right to rank her albums from most to least relatable as a college student!
1. Red
Everything about this album reminds me of the trials and tribulations of being a college girl. With songs like “Everything Has Changed” reminiscing on adolescence, it represents the drastic change from living in your childhood home to moving to college. The singles “I Knew You Were Trouble” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” remind me often of the first serious relationships we get into in college and the mistakes we make in them (which results in us singing “All Too Well” too many times in the shower). Of course, “22” sums up the end of the college experience.
2. Reputation
When Taylor Swift wrote this album, it was, at the time, the most different album from all her previous ones. She took this time to experiment with her style. This is exactly what college was made for: experimentation. This album is filled with some of Taylor’s most lust-filled songs such as “Dress” and “Gorgeous” as well as her more aggressive songs such as “I Did Something Bad” and “…Ready For it.”
3. 1989
This album was the true start of Taylor’s pop era. I remember going to the 1989 tour when I was just a mere freshman in high school. To be quite honest, I wasn’t really sure where to put this album. However, I ended up putting it as third, because I feel that Taylor was able to really show her maturity in this album. She sings of moving to New York which can be paralleled to moving to a new town for college. This is also one of her first albums where she does not write as many songs about relationships, showing her growth.
4. Speak Now
Speak Now’s album theme is “all the things I never said.” While this album, in my opinion, gives off the same energy as Red, I ranked it as fourth, because I feel that a lot of the songs include cliches and fantasies. This, in turn, makes this album appear a little immature for college students. Songs like “Mine” and “Enchanted” include lyrics that fantasize about meeting the love of one’s life.
5. Fearless
To me, Fearless is the epitome of “Old Taylor.” I am a little biased towards this album because it is my all-time favorite. I grew up listening to “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me.” I used to write random lyrics from this album onto my notebooks when I was younger. That being said, I just can’t relate to this album as a college student as much. I only hope others feel the same, as I know these throwback songs remind me of my middle school days.
6. Lover
This album had a drastic change, maybe not style-wise but definitely lyric-wise. Even though Taylor was infamous for releasing breakup songs and writing about her exes, she went the opposite route here, writing about the love she was experiencing with her boyfriend. When I think of this album, I think of freedom and finally finding what you are looking for. I think college is the journey to finding that. I genuinely believe that the way Taylor felt writing Lover is the feeling everybody wants to find in or after college.
7. Evermore / Folklore
I put these two albums together because it is obvious how correlated they are. They evoke the same feelings and images when you listen to them both. While amazing albums, I put them near the bottom of the list, because they consisted mostly of storytelling. However, I felt that songs like “this is me trying” and “champagne problems” were very accurate in depicting the confusion and hardships of trying to figure out one’s life and navigating all the problems one can face in college.
8. Taylor Swift
I am probably the least familiar with this album because I was too young to appreciate it when it first came out. I am ranking it last because I feel that many of the lyrics are for a slightly younger audience. This makes sense though, considering Taylor Swift was in high school when she was writing these lyrics.