Here is our web editor’s ranking of Taylor Swift’s albums. PHOTO CREDIT: lsureveille.com
Over a month after the release of Taylor Swift’s “Midnights,” I think I finally have a strong enough grasp on all of the music to rank her albums. Since the start of her career in 2006, Swift has released 10 albums (not including the rerecords), and each one has a special place in my heart. Even though I have to rank some albums low on this list, I adore each and every one of them and think they are all great parts of her discography.
10. “Taylor Swift”
I think this was an obvious pick. Although it’s a great debut album and the reason why she got the chance to be as big as she is today, it just doesn’t compare to her later works. “Picture to Burn” and “Should’ve Said No” are some of my favorite songs to scream to, “Our Song” and “Tim McGraw” are classics and “Teardrops on My Guitar” is a constant on my playlists, but other than those, this album is kind of forgettable to me.
9. “Red (Taylor’s Version)”
My best friend is very upset by this ranking, but I am just not a “Red” girl. I think this stems back to my middle school years, when Swift released the album. “Trouble” just doesn’t sound the same after practicing it in glee club for hours after school. Despite my PTSD, I really do enjoy “Red,” and it actually has my favorite Swift song on it, “Better Man.” And it would be wrong to talk about Swift’s hits without mentioning “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault),” a song I consider a national treasure. This album was a big help when I “broke up” with my high school best friend, and I think I will be able to appreciate it to its fullest extent when I get my heart broken again one day.
8. “evermore”
You’re either a “folklore” girl or an “evermore” girl, and I just am not an “evermore” girl. I think this is a great seasonal album, and I love listening to it in the wintertime, especially “champagne problems,” “gold rush” and “right where you left me,” but I rarely listen to the album outside of that one season. My only exceptions to that rule are “dorothea” and “cowboy like me,” which are two of my favorite Swift songs.
7. “Speak Now”
Similar to “Red” and thinking I’ll be able to relate to it more when I experience true heartbreak, I think “Speak Now” will resonate a lot more with me when I experience true love. I can’t wait for the days when I can sing “Speak Now,” “Enchanted,” “Long Live” and even “The Story of Us” with my heart, but right now, that’s just not the case.
6. “Midnights”
Okay, it was a record-breaking, vulnerable, surprising album, but it wasn’t my favorite album. I like it, but I love the next five albums a lot more. I think I’m also very emotionally connected to the other albums because they’ve been around for a lot longer, so maybe I need to spend more time with the songs, but my current favorites are “Question…?,” “Karma,” “The Great War” and “Glitch.”
5. “1989”
This is the ultimate pop album, the ultimate “singles” album (both radio singles and “not in a relationship” singles) and the ultimate summer album. If I had to name my favorites, I would just list every song, but I especially love “New Romantics,” “Shake It Off,” “Style,” and “Welcome To New York.”
4. “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)”
This album is like a hug, I feel so comforted when I listen to it. I’ve always been the big sister and never had one myself, so the songs on this album feel like a stand-in for things I think a big sister would share. “Fifteen” with life lessons, “Fearless” about being brave, “Superstar” about crushes, and “Mr. Perfectly Fine” about heartbreak. This album covers so many different subjects, and I feel like all of the music on it has taught me a lot while still being fun to listen to. Some of my favorite songs on here are “The Other Side Of The Door” (one of my top songs ever), “Jump Then Fall,” “Untouchable” and “The Way I Loved You.”
3. “folklore”
This is the album that got me into Swift’s music, and I adore it. It has such beautiful, poetic songs on it like “the lakes,” “invisible string,” “this is me trying,” “mirrorball” and “my tears ricochet.” If it didn’t make me cry every time I listened to it, it would be ranked even higher.
2. “Lover”
She fumbled the bag with the singles and literally used the worst songs on the album, but I’m obsessed with this album. I think “ME!” and “You Need to Calm Down” are fun, and they’re always on my summer playlists, but I truly don’t know how anyone let her make these singles. “Cruel Summer” is a top three song for me and would have absolutely taken over the world. A small part of me is happy that I can gatekeep this song from a lot of the world, but the other is disappointed that it’ll never get the love it deserves. This album reminds me a lot of “1989” with the romantic pop songs, but “Lover” feels more emotionally and lyrically grounded to me. Some other notable mentions are “False God,” “London Boy,” “Death By A Thousand Cuts,” “Cornelia Street” and “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince.”
1. “reputation”
Although “folklore” and “Lover” are near and dear to my heart, “reputation” is my favorite album ever. I think it’s perfect, I wouldn’t change a thing about it, and it breaks my heart that it was received so lowly by the public when it came out. I stand by the fact that this album is camp, it’s revolutionary, it’s groundbreaking and the only explanation is that people weren’t ready for it.
I am thrilled about the future rerecording of this album and hope it gets the attention it deserves. The only downside I see to the rerecording is that there will be a different cover. I think the current cover is perfect. Every detail is flawless. Maybe it’s bias coming from the journalist in me, but the news font perfectly captures the message of the album, and I don’t know how I’m going to live in a world without this cover. A lot of people say their “reputation era” is when they’re being crazy, impulsive and bitchy, but to me, it’s about isolation and learning to love yourself in the quiet. Facing tough blows from life but persevering on your own and realizing that it’s okay to open up and that you deserve to be loved.
I am forever in this “reputation era,” and I am prepared to become the most annoying person in the world when the “reputation” rerecording comes out. It’s another no-skip album, but my favorites are “Getaway Car,” “…Ready For It?,” “Gorgeous,” “So it Goes…,” “Delicate” and “Don’t Blame Me.” I also think “New Year’s Day” is the perfect song to end the album and perfectly captures the entire theme and idea about deserving a quiet love story. If I had to write a dissertation on anything in the world, it would be this album. I could talk about it forever. It would be my dream to write a “Mamma Mia!” style movie, but instead of ABBA, it’s a romcom with “reputation” as the soundtrack.
As I said before, even though I had to put some of Swift’s music lower in order to properly rank them, I’m very fond of each and every one of these albums and can’t wait to be able to sing them with Swift at her tour next year.