"The 1" and "August" tied for the top spot. Marjorie is a tear-jerking tribute to her late grandmother and Justin Vernon-duet Evermore is a euphoric beacon of hope that feels especially poignant at the end of 2020. The album's opening, "Ready For It?," is an aptly-titled shockwave to the system compared to her previous work, abandoning instrumental lead-ins for a feel-it-in-your-bones bass machine accelerating into a rap? But for every purely excellent song off 1989 ("Out Of The Woods," "Clean") there's invariably a hollow foil track, the worst offenses, of course, being "Shake It Off" and "Bad Blood." And that's really all Swift, whose genius for conversational melodies and knack for giving every chorus a telling new twist every time around remain unmistakable trademarks.". Standouts tracks on this album also include "Fearless," an easy listen that captures the sweet feelings surrounding new romances; "Fifteen," a young love story that unfolds over several verses; "White Horse," a slow tune featuring lyrics about heartbreak that cut deep; "Love Story," a romantic tale with a fairytale edge; and "The Best Day," an emotional song that is filled with sweet childhood memories. But none are more affecting than "champagne problems," a first-person post-mortem after rejecting a marriage proposal a classic "it's not you, it's me" scenario with simple piano chords accompanying the guilt of walking away and the peril of being mentally unwell ("'She would've made such a lovely bride' / 'What a shame she's fked in the head,' they said"). Even so, there are simply too many placeholders on Lover's 18-track roster for it to fare well against her discography's worthier, meatier contenders. On Swifts second album she still kept things country, but this time the pop edge that defined later releases was more evident. "Champagne Problems" serves as a painful tale of a failed relationship. And the majority of Lover proves her path to better things, being an airy, whipped topping "love letter to love," both for the self and for a partner. As ever, Swift deftly pivots from upbeat tracks to sad ballads with devastating bridges that make you want to cry your eyes out. When "Midnights" was first announced, Swift described it as "the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life" and invited fans to meet her at midnight the night the album dropped. He's right "Folklore" further cements the fact that Swift is in a league all her own and cannot be placed in a stylistic box when it comes to her music. Listening to folklore then is like wiping the cuff of a cable knit on fogged glass to peer in on private moments. Back in 2006, a little-known country singer called Taylor Swift released her debut single Tim McGraw. Songs that sum up this album include "State Of Grace," a different sound with gorgeous lyrics that are undoubtedly Swiftian; "I Knew You Were Trouble," a reflective song full of dramatic production effects and a driving beat; "All Too Well," a slow ballad reminiscing a past love with emotional lyrics and execution; and "22," an effortless pop hit. Pick what song you like better in each battle to get an accurate list of your favourite songs. Teaming up with The Nationals Aaron Dessner (who worked on 11 of the 16 songs) and long-time collaborator Jack Antonoff, its a stunning collection of modern folk songs. "I have this Forrest Gump-ian way of touching something and it becomes a hit!" So it is written in "State Of Grace," beginning the album with a percussive prologue la U2, warning that we "fall in love 'til it hurts or bleeds or fades in time" before proclaiming, almost joyously, that she'll "never be the same." But reputation is much more than an extended diss track; It's also a not-so-private ceremony for a new, hush-hush love affair (that years later blossoms into a now-rumored engagement to partner Joe Alwyn). It's no exaggeration, then, to say almost every emotion has been articulated by Taylor Swift at some point, whether in broad-stroke breakup anthems or close-to-the-chest confessionals. Haim collaboration No Body, No Crime is a full-blown country revenge song, while Long Story Short and Gold Rush fuse Swifts new sound with some 1984-era gloss. To make it easy for you, we haven't included Taylor Swift singles, EPs, or compilations - everything you see here should only be studio albums. Rosen is right this album combines intimate lyrics and incredibly catchy tunes and it is showcased in Swift's hit single "You Belong With Me," an upbeat anthem for those dealing with unrequited love. After the runaway success of country-pop second record Fearless, for Speak Now elements of pop rock, bluegrass and soft rock were added into the mix. I'm not using the 5-tier-ranking-scale or whatever because if I did literally half of the list would be a 5/5 yeah music is pretty good rn. But just because Taylor took a sharp left turn doesn't mean she was unsuccessful. The bridge to Fifteen includes a great, revealing line about a friends lost innocence (And Abigail gave everything/She had to a boy/Who changed his mind/And we both cried), while the playful melody of Hey Stephen captures the essence of what makes for indelible teen-pop. With a record thats a love letter to love itself. It made sense then for this, her second studio album, which won her four Grammys including Album of the Year, to be the first altar in the "Taylor's Version" re-recording saga. Red is filled with top notch tunes: the brilliantly snarky We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Swifts first ever Billboard 100 Number One) and fizzing 22 are stone-cold smashers. The album plays as a survey course in contemporary pop, and Swift is game to try just about anything, from the uninhibited dance-pop of standout Starlight to the thundering heartland rock of Holy Ground. The tracks that work best are those on which the production is creative and modern in ways that are in service to Swifts songwriting. I'll admit it took me a second to warm up to "Folklore" and realize how sophisticated and masterful it was so much so that it jumped from second-to-last to second place since this ranking was last updated. First released in 2008, its original release won the Grammy for Album of the Year, and thirteen years later in 2021, Fearless (Taylors Version) became the first of Swifts re-recorded albums to drop. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Where her debut guaranteed she was, at the very least, a momentary sensation, it wasn't until 2008's Fearless that the world understood the musical force that Taylor Swift could be. and Bleachers fame), who employs an undercurrent of drums that boom like palms on metal doors and vocals that echo as if off skyscrapers. By albums end, Swift assesses her crumbling empire and tattered reputation, discovering redemption in loveonly Reputation isnt so much a rebirth as it is a retreat inward. Two things before we get into the list: 1. But the true gems of this wildly successful 2021 re-recording (which topped every chart in sight across the globe) are undoubtedly "Love Story," which resurfaces here with heightened sensibilities and deeper convictions, along with several songs "From The Vault," most notably "Mr. Midnight's answer: she's still soaring. " Bad Blood . But while her grasp of song structure at this point in her career suggested an innate talent for how to develop a melody, Fearless also highlights Swifts then-limited repertoire and lack of creativity in constructing her narratives of doe-eyed infatuations and first loves gone wrong. Welcome to the Taylor Swift song sorter. Returning to this record then, with its new polish and poise, is a kind of homecoming celebration. 40 "Should've Said No" Swift's uptempo. Yet between its plot-point breadcrumbs is an inherent relatability embedded in Taylor's never-better introspection. Taylor Swift albumsTaylor Swift - 1989Credit: Big Machine, Fall Music Preview Most Anticipated Albums, Taylor Swift albumsTaylor Swift - Speak NowCredit: Big Machine. The catalyst was lead single "Tim McGraw," but this ticket to the country radio airwaves turned out to be a red herring with the advent of other ironclad, infinitely repeatable songs that remain fan favorites, even in lieu of our now excess of options. Standouts like "Teardrops on My Guitar," "Picture to Burn," and "Cold As You" capture the essence of this album, which is "explicitly country-oriented," as Billboard music critic Jonathan Bradley wrote in 2017. "I loved the ways you welcomed the dreamscapes and tragedies and epic tales of love lost and found into your lives," reads her album announcement. Rather, it recalls the key moments of a love gone awry in arresting detail "I'll get older, but your lovers stay my age" wasting not a single word in confronting a past partner many years her senior (unanimously believed to be Jake Gyllenhaal) nearly 10 years after the fact. 1 as it best represents the evolution of Swift and her music. Whilst it has less T-Swiz classics than other releases, across the board its one of Swifts strongest albums, bursting with catchy morsels. What makes Taylor's first foray into pop so often irresistible is her ability to rise above the genre's preoccupation with recycled hooks and surface level lyrics. Shes doing exactly what shes always done: offering a collection of incisive, often provocative songs that incorporate authentic, first-person details and leaving others to argue over specific genre signifiers. Lover is a backtrack in a way. Taylor is again musically faithful to the source material she spawned, honoring her then 22-year-old self by jeering and tearing up right on que, though this time with an inherent air of maturity. To celebrate, weve revisited all 10 of her studio albums and ranked them from best to worst. What makes Evermore an essential addition to her catalog is her willingness to tell others stories with the same insight and compassion with which shes always told her own. "This ain't for the best / My reputation's never been worse, so / You must like me for me," is a perfect thesis for the album as a whole on "Delicate," one of the LP's highpoints for its light-as-air ambiance, late night whispers coasting on a swirling current of synth waves. Thus, Taylor Swift is reduced to the last spot on our ranking, partially by default, though also with respect and not without a good fight. ), and is occasionally clumsy in its comebacks. The worlds defining voice in music and pop culture: breaking whats new and whats next since 1952. Though she only first arrived onto (and soon conquered) the popular music scene 16 years ago, the breadth and depth of her work seems more the stuff of a lifelong evolution, spanning multiple genres and breaking industry records almost every time around. And though "All Too Well" is of course her opus in this arena, Speak Now precedes it with an impressive display of her one-off storytelling powers. Related: Ranking Taylor Swift's 10 Most Viewed Music Videos. It's humbling to hear a decades-defining artist at the absolute top of her career sing confessionals about self-loathing ("I'll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror") and toxic longing ("I hosted parties and starved my body / Like I'd be saved with a perfect kiss") with less inhibition than ever before. Its admirable that she tries to incorporate more sophisticated elements into a few of the songs here, but dancing with or kissing someone in the rain is a default image that crops up with nearly the same distracting frequency as references to princesses, angels, and fairy tales. There are many more parallels to past albums, as revisiting life moments already explored in her previous songs creates yet another treasure map of topics for knowledgeable fans. Shes mined this type of melancholy tone before, but never for the full length of an album and certainly never with such a range of perspectives. Cruel Summer, co-written with St. Vincent, a euphoric three minutes of exhilarating 80s synth-pop, should have been a single. Its a brilliantly honest moment, taken from Swifts most mature album yet. In the 16 years since the single Tim McGraw launched Swift to country stardom, shes jettisoned the genres ill-fitting signifiers and overcome the limitations of her early recordingsimprovements captured in her Taylors Version re-recordings as a powerful statement of artistic agency. Happy, free, confused, lonely, devastated, euphoric, wild, and tortured by memories past." The singers first four albums barely scan as country music in a meaningful way, instead embracing her preternatural gifts for pop conventions, and her output has gotten stronger the more openly shes embraced those skills. Rather, reputation is often compelling in its lavish catharsis, best seen on tracks "Gorgeous," "King of My Heart," and "Getaway Car" (which has co-writer/producer Jack Antonoff's handprints all over its Bleachers-like chorus builds). Meanwhile, "Fifteen" translates the same country sentiment into a contemplative portrait of girlhood, of trying to mentor yourself before you've even grown up ("When all you wanted was to be wanted / Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now"). What's likely the most famous track on this album, "Teardrops on My Guitar" is a textbook example of a popular Swift trope: a relatable song about a boy punctuated with clever lyrics. I don't love the way the writer described some of the albums (saying Taylor sounds like a stay at home mom? Almost 15 years ago, before the Grammy awards and international tours, a fresh-faced, 17-year-old Taylor Swift released her self-titled debut album. Many listeners at the time of its 2017 release were less than thrilled by what they saw as pseudo-edgy antics, the equivalent of a prep having a bad day and reaching for black lipstick. Swift's other albums have hits that I can imagine hearing in a grocery store or on a radio station years from now and immediately recognizing just from the opening chords alone. "So I just kept writing them.". Keefe, Swifts third album, Speak Now, is problematic in precisely the same ways that its predecessors are, but there isnt a song here that isnt an absolute wonder of technical construction. Then there's the true-to-life nostalgic musings of romantic naivety at fifteen and unrequited love looming on the high school bleachers. Her once apolitical music is, on Lover, peppered with references to Americas current state of affairs, both thinly veiled (Death by a Thousand Cuts) and more overt (You Need to Calm Down). True, this album successfully acted as a reminder that Swift is a powerhouse musician who shouldnt be messed with. The brooding production glitches and glitters, embracing the indietronica thats permeated the last few The National records. Keefe, Nearly every track on Swifts sophomore effort, Fearless, builds to a massive pop hook. Welcome to the Quantum Realm. These subtle parallels between songs form a sheen narrative web that hovers above the awareness of the average listener but dazzles the die-hard fan, who at this point is well accustomed to Swift's scavenger hunt antics. Anyway. Certainly, it matters that the two albums were born of the protracted isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic and that collaborators like Bon Iver and the Nationals Aaron Dessner figure prominently on both. The finished product is, of course, sterling. The Taylor Swift's Albums Tier List below is created by community voting and is the cumulative average rankings from 131 submitted tier lists. She later builds upon this skill with an added emphasis on production and atmosphere, landing victorious (almost) every time. This Taylor Swift discography is ranked from best to worst, so the top Taylor Swift albums can be found at the top of the list. She also adds that with her recent re-recording of previous albums, Swift has "unlocked something brilliant and fresh in her songwriting," by dipping her toe back into previous eras. "'Fearless' may have established her as a capable teenage singer-songwriter, but 'Red' is the album that solidified her confidence, sexuality, and identity as a bonafide force to be reckoned with," English wrote. It's her only album with skip-every-time songs (why on earth would you force a collab between Future and Ed Sheeran? The tracks combined her typical impressive storytelling abilities while tying together strong emotions of frustration that feel at home in "Reputation" (seen in the track "The Man") as well as stories of falling in love and almost losing it that feel at home in "Speak Now" or "Red" (as seen in "Cornelia Street"). What once felt (or possibly still feels) like the end of the world is, on "Taylor's Version," also a testament to resilience we'll make it to the other side, and we'll do it again and again. The spectacular The Last Great American Dynasty describes the life of American artist Rebekah Harkness (whose Rhode Island house Swift bought in 2013) with vivid descriptive lyrics. 'Red' is filled with top notch tunes: the brilliantly snarky 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' (Swift's first ever Billboard 100 Number One) and fizzing '22' are stone-cold smashers. Following on from the release of Swift's 10th album 'Midnights', let's take a trip down memory lane and take stock of the superstar's career so far. It isnt the weight of the subject matter alone that makes Folklore feel so vitalits the exemplary caliber of her writing. And then theres the title track, a gorgeous slow-dance, that acts as a reminder to why the world fell in love with Swift in the first place. 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