Taylor Swift Albums: A Swifties’ Personal Ranking
There is no denying the impact Taylor Swift has had on the music industry. Over the years, Miss Swift has become one of the (if not, THE) biggest artists in the world thanks in large part to her musical and songwriting skills. She has set records, broken said records, collected a number of awards, and received critical acclaim for her work. I myself have been a fan of her for well over a decade now, and I don’t know what my life would be like without her music. I find something to love about each of her albums, but which one is the best?
A Few Things to Go Over Before Diving Into This:
- I will be focusing on her original albums, 1–9.
- This means I won’t be including any EP’s, her Christmas album, or any non-album singles.
- I also won’t be including Fearless (Taylor’s Version). The re-recordings deserve their own ranking in the future.
- My ranking and opinions are 100% biased. I am a fan, I have my favorites.
- Finally, I love and adore all of these albums. I don’t feel that any are necessarily bad, some are just stronger than others.
Alright, as Swift says in her song …Ready For It?, “Baby, let the games begin.”
9. Taylor Swift (2006)
Honestly, something had to be last, and this was the only one I could handle putting on the bottom. When Swift released her debut album in 2006, it was the sign of good things to come. It’s amazing to listen to some of the deeper cuts on this album and remember that she was still in high school at the time. But that also works against itself, in that some of the songs sound very ‘teen’. It’s also, in my opinion, the most ‘country’ of her country albums. The only reason this album ranked last is because it’s the one I revisit the least. Besides some of the popular hits, like Our Song and Tim McGraw, I don’t find myself wanting to listen to the whole thing in one sitting. I am, however, very excited to hear the new version in the near future.
8. Fearless (2008)
Ah, Fearless. This album is significant for me, in that it was the album that made me a diehard Swiftie. This album is also considered to be Swift’s breakthrough, even winning Album of the Year at the 2010 Grammy’s. While this album is something of a modern classic, with iconic hits like Love Story and You Belong With Me, it feels similar to the debut album in that it’s very ‘teen’. (To be clear there is nothing wrong with that sound, but it can be a problem for some.) There are strong and emotional songs on here, but there are also some that don’t stand out. Fearless is a very good and important album in Swift’s career, but she would only grow as a writer from here.
7. 1989 (2014)
Oh boy, the fandom is going to come after me for this one. 1989 is often cited as one of best modern pop albums of all time, it earned Swift her second Grammy for Album of the Year, and I can’t deny that the album has some of her best songs (Out of the Woods and Wildest Dreams are my personal favorites). But there is something about 1989 that always holds me back from truly loving it like everyone else in the fandom. Maybe it’s all of the drama and the specific era surrounding this album that makes me like it less, or maybe I just never felt emotionally connected to it like other albums. But I think we can all agree that many of these songs got way overplayed. And that Bad Blood is one of the weakest songs of her career. Despite my mixed feelings, I do enjoy listening to the whole album from time to time.
6. Lover (2019)
So I have to admit, numbers 7 and 6 on this list could really be flipped depending on my mood. But what gives Lover an edge over 1989 is a lot of the lyrics themselves. Many of the songs feels more personal as well. To me, this feels like Swift as her true self. With songs about her mother, her relationship, and her struggles, Lover is a beautiful and bright album. While the first two singles are definitely some of her weaker songs (Me! and You Need to Calm Down), the other two are some of her best (Lover and The Man). And this album also has one of her best songs ever, Cornelia Street ( which is a masterpiece, don’t deny it). While the album is long and some of the songs are skips, this album is a pretty fun one and I’m sad the Lover era was so short lived.
5. Evermore (2020)
The second of two surprise releases that happened in 2020, Evermore is yet another turning point for Swift, as she ventures into writing fictional stories into her music. I was gearing up for finals when this album dropped, and I spent hours crying over both this album and my math homework. The album is filled with a bundle of melancholic ballads and folkish tunes. Once again, there are a few songs I find myself skipping, (Sorry, Cowboy Like Me and Dorothea), but the melodies and instrumentals make this album shine. If an album were to sound like the winter season, this would be it.
4. Red (2012)
Red has aged like fine wine. When it was released, I remember having mixed feelings on the album. Oddly enough, I didn’t have a true appreciation for Red until a year or two ago, once I went through my first heartbreak. Many critics at the time noted that the album didn’t have a cohesive sound and that the use of multiple genres was messy. But that is what makes Red so good. This was Swift’s first true break-up album, and it perfectly captures those messy and complicated feelings while one is dealing with love and heartbreak. With that said, there are a couple of songs that could’ve been cut/made into bonus tracks. I mean, how does Babe (later recorded by Sugarland) get cut from the track list, where as Starlight (cute song, doesn't really fit the album) makes the final cut? Overall, Red deserves its cult classic status and it deserves more respect. Oh, and this album also features her best written song ever, All Too Well. That song is truly something special.
3. Reputation (2017)
In my humble opinion, Reputation is very misunderstood. While fans adore this album, the general public reacted coldly. I myself was initially very worried for this album after the release of Look What You Made Me Do (though I now I love the lead single), but found myself obsessed with this album. It was a grand return for the pop star after a year away from the spotlight, and she wasn’t messing around. While some of the production on these songs can overpower the singing, the lyrics and Swift’s vocals really shine. Reputation was also the first album where Swift started to lean into a more mature sound. I personally feel that only fans can truly appreciate this one. We understand what she was trying to do, and we know that this album was the product of so many built up feelings. To wrap it up, Reputation got me through some tough times and I think people need to reevaluate their opinions on this one.
2. Speak Now (2010)
Okay so, this one might be up so high based on nostalgia. Speak Now was the first album from Swift that I anticipated. It was my first time getting to wait for the album, and I remember going to Target after school to purchase the deluxe edition. But if I’m being honest, Speak Now is the most underrated album in Swift’s discography. For one, the entire album was written by Swift herself, and I believe she was only 20 at the time. Many of these songs have deep and emotional lyrics that just stab you in the heart. While some of these songs have become modern classics (Mean, for example, one of her most popular songs) others are agreed to be some of her best written. I mean, how can you listen to Dear John and Last Kiss and not want to cry? Speak Now was such a special time in Swift’s career, and for a long time it was my favorite album. That is until one little album dropped out of the blue…
1. Folklore (2020)
The little album that shook the world, Folklore was a breath of fresh air. It was with this album that Swift decided to lean more into storytelling as oppose to her more personal work. Though many of these songs still feel like they were written about or inspired by her personal life. It was also the start of a new sound, more folk rather than the previous bubblegum/EDM pop. It was everything many critics and fans were waiting for, and it was perfection. I have never been so entranced by an album. Every single song has a story, drama, and emotion. The track list features tales of a teen love triangle (August being the best of the three), the story of Rebekah Harkness, a collaboration with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, songs cowritten with her boyfriend (under the pen name William Bowery), and the first time Swift has dropped the F-bomb in a song. But the true beauty of this album is that every single song can be interpreted in different ways, just like actual folk tales. I could go on and on about why Folklore is Swift’s masterpiece, but I will try to wrap this up. To simply put it, Folklore was the album Swift needed to make. It broke records, received critical acclaim, and made Swift the first woman to win Album of the Year three times. This album has opened so many doors for her as an artist, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Every one of Taylor Swift’s albums has something to adore. I truly don’t know what I would do without her music in my life. So, thank you Miss Swift for everything that you do. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to be patiently waiting for Red (Taylor’s Version) to be released. :)
