Music Blog

My Official Ranking Of Taylor Swift’s Eleven Studio Albums

Intro

Taylor Swift became a global phenomenon at a young age. However, through many ups and downs she has only grown bigger and better.

The diversity of Swift’s music is one component that allows her to stay relevant for this long and continue growing her fan base even at nearly twenty years in the industry. Swift has switched genres between albums a multitude of times and does so successfully each time as proven by her four Grammy album of the year wins, in three different genres.

Swift pulls this off through her humble attitude and growth mindset approach. Although she is arguably one of the best in the game, Swift doesn’t think this way, when switching genres or seeking to try something new, Swift reaches out to the experts of those genres in order to properly learn the craft.

For example, when Swift started venturing into pop music during the creation of the red album she reached out and worked with artists like Max Martin and Shellback for the first time. Similarly, when Swift venture into the realm of alternative pop/folk music she reached out to successful musicians in this genre such as Bon Iver and Aaron Dessner of The National.

Further, though Swift is multi-talented, playing multiple instruments, expanding her skills vocally throughout her career, film directing and production, acting, etc. she has always stated that she is a writer first even before she is a musician. Swift explains in her Miss Americana documentary that she would not be where she is career wise if she didn’t write her own songs. It is the cleverness of her lyrics and talent at storytelling from the simple, witty and catchy pop songs, to the deeper ballads that put you into her shoes. Additionally her ability to write about her own life, but also her talent at writing fictional stories while weaving pieces of reality through them.

Swift has pulled all of these talents together to different degrees throughout her 11 studio albums. Today, I will be explaining my personal ranking of each album on a scale of 11 (being the least favourite) to 1 (being my favourite).

**Disclaimer: this ranking is not a factual analysis of what is the best in Swift’s discography and what is the worst (Realistically there is no such thing as music is subjective, however, some could argue from a critical standpoint that there is). It is merely my personal opinion as a fan since Fearless.

11. 1989

In last place is arguably Swift’s most popular and iconic album, 1989. Although this album is my least favourite, I’ve found myself appreciating it again with the release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version), largely due to the vault tracks.  When Swift made the shift to pop music in 2014, the success of her genre switch surprised many, including her own label.  I was in fifth grade when the album was initially released, and I was absolutely obsessed with it.  But as time went on, I grew tired of it and it never redeemed itself for me (okay it slightly did with the re-release).

I went through a period of time where I honestly forgot 1989 existed.  I have always had a master playlist of Swift’s discography, and after updating it when reputation came out, it took me months to realize I never added 1989.  It just became that forgettable for me. (“Welcome To New York” is one of the most unbearable songs I’ve heard, only second to “You Need To Calm Down”).  I feel that the singles were overplayed which is part of the reason, in addition, pop is just not for me, this is not to say that Swift doesn’t do a phenomenal job at writing and producing pop music.  Like I said previously, her pop music is some of the only mainstream pop music I enjoy.

Although Swift delivers clever and satirical lyrics throughout the album, I’ve always found it’s one of her weakest lyrically and for storytelling.  Swift has a talent for painting a picture in your head when you listen to her songs, for inserting you into the exact place she was when she wrote it.  However, I don’t get that same feeling when I listen to 1989. Despite this, I’ve found myself listening to the new version of the album a lot more lately.  I love putting the record on while I’m cleaning because it has great vibes.

 

10. Midnights

In second to last place is Swift’s tenth studio album Midnights. Part of the reason it is so low is that it happens to be primarily synth-pop, which is one of my least favourite genres.  In fact the only pop artists I can really stand are Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift (although for Taylor her pop albums are still usually my least favourites).  I loved the themes of late-nights and nostalgia weaved throughout Midnights, as well as the way it still maintains Swift’s clever songwriting in regards to lyrics and hooks.  However, it is amongst the most forgettable of her albums for me.

Despite it being my one of my least favourites, Midnights, has it’s strong points which are some of my favourite pop songs in her discography (“Maroon”, “You’re On Your Own, Kid”, and “Mastermind”).  Additionally, the deluxe 3am tracks (ex. “The Great War”, “Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve”, “Bigger Than The Whole Sky” and “Dear Reader”), as well as “Hits Different” and “You’re Losing Me” were for the most part, stronger tracks than the ones that made the actual album.

Nonetheless I still find myself listening to Midnights and enjoying it often.  Even songs like “Bejeweled”, “Karma”, and “Lavender Haze” have me dancing around the room and put me in a good mood.  I also cannot regard the musical craft behind the lead single “Anti-Hero”.  What seems like a simple, overplayed pop song actually has some clever musical theory behind it which contributes to it’s success.  In addition to the fact that it perfectly encapsulates the concept of being your own worst enemy, making it widely relatable.

 

09. Reputation

In ninth place is Swift’s sixth studio album, reputation. Although, the album is ranked ninth, it is my favourite era.  I was so excited when Swift wiped her social media accounts and posted the three iconic snake videos, starting the next era after her hiatus.  The era became particularly special because The Reputation Stadium Tour was the first time I got to see Swift live!  After years of watching her tours online it was phenomenal to finally experience it in person.  Rep tour remains one of my favourite tours Swift has done regarding vocals, choreography, setlist, instrumental arrangements, etc.  only second to the Speak Now World tour.

As an album, reputation, is probably the most different in Swift’s discography from her other albums.  Featuring a darker pop sound in which Swift takes on an edgier persona.  However, despite songs like “Look What You Made Me Do”, “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” and “I Did Something Bad”,  reputation is arguably Swift’s softest and most romantic album with songs like, “Dancing With Our Hands Tied”, “Call It What You Want”, “Delicate”, “New Years Day” and “Dress”.  Most of these songs take on the classic, “I hate everyone and everyone hates me, except you” mentality which was very much Swifts mental state during this era.

Even though reputation is low in my overall album ranking, it has always been one of my favourites and held a special place in my heart.  It’s one of my favourites of the pop albums to put on start to finish and I feel like the era holds the most emotional weight of all her albums.

 

08. Lover

In eighth place is Swift’s seventh studio album, Lover. I think the biggest flaws for this album are that the singles leading up to it weren’t very good until “The Archer” and title track “Lover”.   (I actually love “ME!”  when it first came out I was bullied so bad for liking Swift so it really helped me with that, especially when my eighth grade science teacher would blast it in her class for me).  Another flaw is that what could have been some of the strongest songs on the album, “All Of The Girls You Loved Before” and “Need” weren’t included on the albums original release in 2019.  “All Of The Girls You Loved Before” was released as a single in 2023 as promotion for the Eras Tour and “Need” still hasn’t been officially released.

However, Lover has it’s strong points, including “Cornelia Street”, “Soon You’ll Get Better”, “The Archer”, “Afterglow”, “Death By A Thousand Cuts”,  “False God”, “It’s Nice To Have A Friend”, and “Daylight”.  Additionally, songs like “Paper Rings”, “Cruel Summer” and “I Think He Knows” are excellent pop songs that I really enjoy!  (I’m realizing as I’m writing this that I actually might like Lover more than I thought I did).

The dreamy-pop, summer air vibes that I feel from listening to Lover are part of what makes it more enjoyable to me than the other pop albums.  Additionally, Swift’s storytelling in songs like “Cornelia Street” and “Soon You’ll Get Better” make them some of the most vulnerable songs in her discography.

 

07.  Fearless

Swift’s sophomore album, Fearless, is a predictable, but perfect follow-up to the singers self-tilted debut album.  Cowboy boots, teenage angst, curly hair, sparkly guitars and fringe dresses sums up the Fearless album.  However, I feel like it has a lot more deep-cuts then it’s given credit for.  Songs like “You’re Not Sorry”, “The Best Day”, “White Horse”, “Breathe”, “Come In With The Rain”, “Forever & Always”, “Don’t You”, “You All Over Me”, and “We Were Happy” amongst others were some of the earliest indicators that Swift would be renowned for her songwriting abilities.

Fearless is one of my favourite albums to put on when I want to feel like a teenage girl.  Shamelessly obsessed, upset and in love all at the same time.  The longevity of this eras singles, “Love Story”, “You Belong With Me” and the title track, “Fearless” are still some of the most popular and well-known Swift songs amongst fans and non-fans.  The only reason it sits at number eight and not in my top five is that I simply like the albums above it more and of Swift’s country albums (Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now and Red) I listen to it the least.

Fearless is the most nostalgic album for me because it is the album I heard the most when I was younger that initially got me into Swift’s music.  After seeing her perform “Crazier” in the Hannah Montana movie I had declared Swift was the prettiest woman I’d ever seen.  By the time I performed “Love Story” at a family event with my cousin when we were like five and six, I was in deep.

06. Speak Now

Starting off the top half of the ranking in sixth place is Swift’s third album, Speak Now.  Despite the album having mature themes of growing up, innocence, teenage Swift being interrupted by 32-year-old Kanye West at the 2009 VMAs and her controversial relationship with John Mayer, whom she has a 13 year age gap, Speak Now feels like a fairytale-woven album.  Songs such as “Enchanted”, “Long Live”, “Sparks Fly”, “Last Kiss”, “Mine”, “Back To December”, “Speak Now”, “Castles Crumbling”, “Haunted” and “Timeless” make me feel like I should be wearing a giant ball gown and dancing around a castle -AND I LOVE IT!

I also love the pop-rock songs such as “Better Than Revenge”, “The Story Of Us” and “Haunted”.  Currently, they’re the closest we will get to a rock album from Swift (which I really hope she does someday because she has such a good voice for it)!

Speak Now holds some of my favourite Swift songs including “Never Grow Up” which never fails to make me tear up (okay that’s an understatement, I’m, usually sobbing).  Additionally, my favourite tour Swift has ever done is the Speak Now World Tour.  I think it truly beats out all of her other tours in terms of stage design, choreography, dancers, setlist, performance, vocals, etc.  It was truly magical!

 

05. The Tortured Poets Department/The Anthology

We have made it to the top five!  Starting off is Swift’s most recent album The Tortured Poets Department (since The Tortured Poets Department is a double album I made The Anthology and TTPD share fifth place). The Tortured Poets Department is my favourite of Swift’s pop albums because it sounds reminiscent of Lana Del Rey’s style of pop music.  It’s less bubblegum, upbeat and more sultry, with lyrics focused on telling a story.  Songs such as “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived”, “loml”, “The Tortured Poets Department”, “Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?”, “So Long, London” and “Fresh Out The Slammer” cleverly insert you into the story and emotions Swift was feeling while writing them through her use of imagery, symbolism, and extended metaphors.

I particularly like how reminiscent this album is to Swift’s older albums such as Red, folklore and evermore.  Many songs even conveying melodies and riffs which date back to albums such as Fearless and Speak Now. You can’t convince me “But Daddy I Love Him” wouldn’t fit on Fearless as “Love Story” part two.

The second half of The Tortured Poets Department titled, The Anthology, could quite literally be Woodvale (if you know, you know).  The way it is written lyrically, instrumentally and the abundance of tracks produced by Aaron Dessner make it feel like we’re back in the world of folklore and evermore.  I think this is why I like The Anthology slightly better than The Tortured Poets Department.  There is no better or more genuine Swift song than when it is just her, a guitar and/or piano, singing devastatingly relatable, funny or light-hearted lyrics (depending on the style of song).

Additionally, The Anthology also calls all the way back to Swift’s early albums including her self-tilted debut in songs like “The Bolter”, “I Hate It Here”, “The Prophecy”, “thanK you aIMee” and “The Manuscript”.

 

04. evermore / 03. folklore (they switch a lot)

folklore and evermore were the two albums Swift released during the 2o2o COVID-19 pandemic.  Realistically, I like folklore and evermore equally, my preference for either or changes depending on the seasons.  The two albums seem to thematically and emotionally follow a seasonal cycle just as Swift intended when she wrote them.  folklore represents spring and summer, while evermore represents autumn and winter.  Swift calls the two “sister albums”, for myself and most fans, evermore feels like the elder, more mature version of folklore. 

What I love most about folklore and evermore is how well the genre works for Swift’s style of lyricism, her vocal abilities and storytelling. It was especially interesting and fun to pick out the pieces in the lyrics and thematic similarities between certain songs on the two albums linking them together to tell and even bigger story.  For example, the infamous teenage love triangle between James, Augustine and Betty which is told through three songs, “august”, “betty” and “cardigan”, that on their own are incredible songs, but they link together to tell an even bigger story.  Similarly, “’tis the damn season” and “dorothea” on evermore.

I love how folklore and evermore seem to call back to Swift’s earlier work in songs such as “Sad Beautiful Tragic”, “Tied Together With A Smile”, “The Last Time”, “The Best Day” etc.  On the contrary, I also love how Swift’s collaboration with new artists expanded her craft and skill on these albums.  Aaron Dessner has been a collaborator on every album Swift as put out since.  Additionally, Bon Iver’s, Justin Vernon, brought songs like “exile” and “evermore” to life by executing beautiful bridges which heighten the songs emotionally.  But perhaps the most surprising collaborator was Swift’s former boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, who co-wrote many songs across the two albums and continued to write music with Swift afterwards.  Alwyn is responsible for the piano and lyrics behind most of the fan favourites including, “champagne problems”, “exile”, “betty”, and “evermore”.  Like Swift often does when she writes with other artists, Alwyn used the pseudonym William Bowery.

02. Taylor Swift (Self-Titled, Debut)

In second place is Swift’s self-tilted debut album.  It’s not surprising considering this is her first album, but the bitter honesty, teenage angst, sass, and pettiness on this album makes it arguably the most authentic and genuine album in the singer’s discography.  Swift was only 16 when the album was released and many of the songs were written when she was between 12 and 16 years old because of her innocence, the album is often overlooked by critics.  However, no album says early 2000s nostalgia and girlhood like Taylor Swift.

I started to really appreciate this album when I became a teenager myself and went through the bittersweet years (I’m currently on my last) 0f 13-19.  It’s not until then that I realized it is one of Swift’s most honest and relatable albums.  Despite her young age, she covers mature topics with impressive lyrics (not just for her age, but impressive in general) such as addiction and eating disorders in “Tied Together With A Smile”.

Of course the album also holds many breakup and crush songs (as this is the focal point of teenage girlhood) which I found when I went through my own teenage relationships and breakups, were the most relatable in her discography to how I was feeling: “Cold As You”, “Teardrops On My Guitar”, “Picture To Burn” etc.  In fact, one of Swift’s most iconic songs ever, “Our Song” was written when she was only 14 for a grade nine talent show.

Taylor Swift also holds one of my all-time favourites, “Mary’s Song (Oh My My My)”, which I believe was an early example of Swift’s impeccable ability to paint a picture in the listener’s head when telling a story, making them feel like the are the main character in it.  However, what I love most about this album is that like Swift’s other early albums (Fearless, Speak Now, Red) and folklore, evermore and The Anthology, it uses primarily real instruments!  Within the songs are intricate instrumental breaks, guitar solos and riffs.  This is what I miss most in a lot of modern-day music including Swift’s pop albums.

01. Red

My number one favourite album from Swift is her fourth album, Red. Red’s opening track “State Of Grace”  has been my favourite Swift song since the red album as well.  There is not another song that sounds like it in her discography and the way it opens the album is perfect.  Red also holds a lot of my other favourites that have a particular vibe which is difficult to find in the other albums such as: “Holy Ground”, “The Last Time”, “Treacherous”, “Red”, “The Lucky One”, “Sad Beautiful Tragic”, “Come Back…Be Here”, “Better Man”, “Nothing New”, “Safe and Sound”, “Eyes Open”, “I Bet You Think About Me”, “Babe”, “Run”, “Begin Again” and of course the all time fan favourite since 2012, “All Too Well”.  It’s a long list, but these songs are truly some of my favourites and they seem to get lost in her large discography.

What I like most about Red is the way it has pieces of all of Swift’s musical eras as she ventures into pop, country, rock, folk AND it has REAL instruments (with guitar solos and everything, it’s crazy guys)! I feel like instrumentally and cohesively, Red perfectly represents what it is intended to: the whirlwind of emotions that come with falling in and out of love, growing up and overcoming hardships.  It truly is “happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time”.  Even the few pop songs on Red such as “We Are Never Getting Back Together”, “I Knew You Were Trouble”, “The Very First Night” are more tolerable to me than many of the pop songs on 1989 and Midnights.

Red is the only album of Swift’s where I feel like you get a bit of everything: Taylor Swift, Fearless, and Speak Now in songs like “I Almost Do”, “I Bet You Think About Me”, “Begin Again” and “Stay Stay Stay”.  1989 and Midnights in songs like “I Knew You Were Trouble”, “22”, “Message In A Bottle” and “The Very First Night”. Lover and Reputation in songs like “State Of Grace”, “Forever Winter” and “Holy Ground”.  folklore, evermore, The Tortured Poets Department and The Anthology in songs like “Sad Beautiful Tragic”, “The Last Time”, “Safe and Sound” and “Run”.

Red is also the album that made me decide to finally learn guitar when I was about 10 or 11 years old.  After I had mastered treacherous I started learning Swift’s whole discography!

 

Thank you for reading, I know this was a long one, but it was highly requested!  Please also remember that I am obsessed with every single one of these albums regardless of their position on my ranking (some maybe I’m just more obsessed with than others).  This ranking is also generalized, and subject to change every hour depending on my mood.

 

 

 

 

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