As a lifelong Swiftie, Eras Tour attendee, and someone who shares a birthday with Taylor herself, I’d like to think I am somewhat familiar with Taylor Swift’s discography. From Debut to Midnights and everything in between, I have listened to each and every song of hers, multiple times, and have a Taylor Swift playlist for just about every occasion. Although my ranking may be controversial, I took many things into account when putting together my ranking from features, to vault tracks and bonus tracks. I have compiled this ranking of Taylor Swift’s ten albums, only including Taylor’s Versions for the rerecordings that are available as of now.
- Folklore
Produced during the pandemic, Folklore was a perfect escape and comfort throughout the uncertainty during quarantine. The acoustics on this album are unmatched and in my opinion it is the best album Taylor has ever released. This indie-folk collection explores themes of addiction, mental health, anxiety, and fictious stories from the cottage-core, whimsical forest Swift envisioned. The depth and intricacy of each ballad is something that has not been replicated in her previous work, and it is no surprise that this album topped the charts in 2020. I love the sincerity of Folklore, as it feels less of a production and more of an effortlessly beautiful storybook filled with intrinsic characters and relationships. My most listened to songs include “the lakes”, “betty”, “this is me trying”, “seven”, “cardigan”, and “the last great american dynasty.”
- Evermore
This is the “I Forgot That You Existed” album of Taylor’s discography. Unless you’re an avid Taylor Swift fan, some people may not even know this album exists. It came as a surprise after Folklore, as Taylor had not previously released two albums that close in time in prior years. Evermore is the “sister record” to Folklore as Taylor put it. With Evermore, Taylor not only wrote music, but envisioned an esoteric dreamscape complete with its own characters, tragedies and tales. Evermore contains some of Taylor’s most mystical, poetic and carefree lyricism of all time. She collaborated with Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner, Justin Vernon and Joe Alwyn (William Bowery) to complete this seventeen track musical masterpiece. My favourite songs include “ivy”, “no body, no crime (feat. HAIM)”, “gold rush”, “‘tis the damn season”, and “coney island (feat. The National).”
- Reputation
If you are in your revenge era, then this one’s for you. This album was Taylor’s way of addressing all the critics in her life who loved to pinpoint each and every flaw of hers. While some may argue that this album is too much of a “production”, it is one of my favourite albums to date. It’s the perfect “dance like no one’s watching album” and most of the songs can easily be memorized after just a few listens. This album is unlike any of Taylor’s previous endeavours and has influences of hip hop, trap, and EDM intertwined. It is some of Swift’s most vulnerable and powerful writing, and was the perfect comeback after being hidden from the public eye for a year. My top tier songs on this tracklist are “Don’t Blame Me”, “Delicate”, ‘Getaway Car”, “King of My Heart”, “Dress”, “Call It What You Want”, and “New Year’s Day.”
- 1989
1989 contains some of Taylor’s most iconic songs of all time. From “Blank Space” to “Bad Blood” and “Shake It Off”, most people are familiar with this album, considering it is Taylor’s first full-fledged pop album. This album is timeless and the lyricism and musicality does not go unnoticed. Taylor coined this album 1989 after her birth year, and the 1989 era goes down as one of Swift’s most unforgettable eras thus far. A friendly reminder that 1989 (Taylor’s Version), comes out October 27th, 2023. My top songs on this album are “Style”, “I Wish You Would”, “New Romantics”, “Wonderland”, “Clean”, and “This Love.”
- Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
Speak Now is a perfect blend of country, pop, and rock, documenting adolescence, growth, and everything in between. It is one of Taylor’s most versatile albums and has some of the best choruses of her entire discography. It signifies the transition from childhood to adulthood, and is both musically and lyrically exquisite. Speak Now carries some of Swift’s most influential anthems, perfect for karaoke nights or belting out in the shower. The twenty-two tracks on this album were written solely by Swift herself, proving to critics that she can do it all. Some fan favourites are “Mine (Taylor’s Version)”, “Back to December (Taylor’s Version)”, “Dear John (Taylor’s Version)”, “Sparks Fly (Taylor’s Version)”, and “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).”
- Lover
The Lover era was a foolproof opener for the Eras Tour. It is a perfect summer album, and has some of Taylor’s most fun and energetic tracks. Many of the songs are criminally underappreciated and deserve a lot more recognition. While the writing may not be up to par with Folklore and Evermore, the simplicity of some of the tracks make it the perfect belt out in your car album. Swift embodied every chronicle of love in this album and it is an instant mood booster. My most played songs on Lover include”The Man”, “The Archer”, “Daylight”, “Afterglow”, “False God”, “London Boy”, and “Death By A Thousand Cuts.”
- Red (Taylor’s Version)
It was difficult putting Red this low on my ranking considering it contains one of my all time favourite songs “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”. This album is Taylor’s second re-recording and it did not disappoint. Taylor perfectly conveyed the complicated post-breakup feelings and these tracks contain some of her best lyricism to date. This album consists of some of my favourite features and guest vocals which include Ed Sheeran, Phoebe Bridgers, Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol and Chris Stapleton. This is Taylor’s longest album with thirty tracks, and a run time of just over two hours. This album had some of the best promotion including a ten minute short film directed by Taylor Swift, starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien. Some of the best tracks are “Treacherous (Taylor’s Version)”, “Everything Has Changed (feat. Ed Sheeran) (Taylor’s Version)”, and “State of Grace (Taylor’s Version)”.
- Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
Fearless holds a special place in my heart being one of my most listened to albums from my childhood. I can recall listening to “Love Story” or “You Belong With Me”, on the radio, not having any idea that fifteen years later, she would still be my most listened to artist. This album signifies Taylor’s entrance into mainstream media as well as her first number one album. This country-pop album also introduces aspects of folk and rock similar to Debut, and touches on the many emotions of a young teenage girl. Underrated songs include “We were Happy (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”, Forever & Always (Piano Version) (Taylor’s Version)”, and “White Horse (Taylor’s Version).”
- Midnights
With Midnights being Taylor’s tenth studio album, you might expect some aspects to be repetitive or similar to previous work she has put out, but evidently that is not the case with this album. Unlike Folklore and Evermore, Midnights gives us a taste of Taylor’s own thoughts and emotions as it includes topics such as self-criticism, anxiety, insecurity and tidbits into her “3 am” thoughts. There are a wide range of genres included in this album from disco tunes, to R&B and even alternative rock. The lyricism is often overlooked in this album but in my opinion, it is some of Taylor’s most versatile and poetic writing yet. Some fan favourites include “Maroon”, Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve”, and “You’re On Your Own, Kid.”
- Debut
While this album may be ranked last, I am in no way insinuating that it is a bad album. In fact it is one of the few country albums I enjoy and gravitate to. As someone who is not an avid country music fan, I can appreciate this album as it incorporates elements of pop and rock and truly encompasses the many life experiences of a teenage girl growing up in a small town. If you’re just hearing of this album for the first time, I recommend listening to “Tim Mcgraw”, “Teardrops on my Guitar”, “Our Song”, and “Tied Together with a Smile.”