Every Taylor Swift album, ranked through the eyes of a superfan

Please don’t come for me – there was always going to have to be one album technically in “last” place, and I got my karma for not being a big fan of this album when two of the four surprise songs at my Eras Tour date were tracks from it.

While the album was a record-breaking commercial success – Taylor became the first artist in history to occupy all top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 – it didn’t forge a distinctive enough sound compared to her previous work, and felt a little hollow after the lyrical depth of her previous albums. Midnights was written like a 2am diary entry, lulled by the soundscapes of a sleeping city, but it just lacked the resonance to go up against her other incredible albums.

A lot of people adore the lead single, “Anti-Hero”, but as someone who was unfortunately working in retail at the time of this album’s release, hearing this song multiple times a day on the radio did drive me crazy. And while the album’s surprise “3am Edition” gave us the lamenting lyricism of “The Great War” and “Bigger Than The Whole Sky”, Midnights feels too convoluted genre-wise that it appears like a diluted version of everything she’s done before.

Sitting on the train on the way to Liverpool for the Eras Tour, I was desperately trying to learn the words to every track on The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, Taylor’s 31-track deluxe version of her eleventh studio album that is now her longest album by runtime. I’d been embarrassingly slow about listening to this album, but truth be told, listening to some of these tracks felt more like homework than fun.

Released on April 19, 2024, The Tortured Poets Department broke Spotify’s single-day streaming record, earning over 300M streams in just 24 hours. Deeply introspective and confessional, “So Long, London” and “loml” are lyrically perfect – the album felt like a less maximalist, moodier version of Midnights. The album also marked her last consecutive collaboration with Jack Antonoff since Red, as the popular producer was not involved in The Life of a Showgirl.

The length of this album is arguably its biggest downfall – while it’s incredibly ambitious to release such a long album, especially one positioning itself as something akin to poetry, it felt slightly bloated and a bit unnecessary. Taylor obviously heard this, and The Life of a Showgirl is now set to be her shortest album since her 2006 debut. Maybe we’ll end up regretting what we wished for?

I go back and forth between Lover and Evermore for 8th and 9th place, respectively – so there’s your spoiler for the next ranking. I think Evermore beats it out at this current moment because I’m well and truly trying to cultivate my autumn era, but also because every time I remember “London Boy exists”, I recoil slightly. As a Londoner, the concept of enjoying “walking around Camden Market in the afternoon” is, quite frankly, nightmare fuel.

The album is not without its absolute bops, though, with the infectious synth-pop anthem “Cruel Summer” now being Taylor’s most-streamed song of all time, with nearly 3.1 billion Spotify streams as of October. “The Archer” and “Cornelia Street” are two favourites, both tender, reflective ballads that perfectly balance out the more bubblegum pop elements of this well-rounded album.

While critics praised its saccharine earworm tracks, it was regarded as too long by some, and I would definitely consider it one of her weaker albums, both musically and lyrically. Still, that’s only according to Taylor Swift standards, and Lover is still a wonderfully enjoyable listen that marked her first album since parting ways with Scooter Braun, hence why it’s so beloved by diehard Swifties.

A companion piece to Folklore, Taylor’s ninth studio album, Evermore, finds itself at number eight because it’s actually physically impossible to craft a cold weather playlist without delving into its earthy chamber pop goodness.

Released in December of 2020, the album was praised for continuing with Folklore’s experimental sound and production, and most notably its lyrical storytelling – many of us shed a tear when the spellbinding “tolerate it” was axed from the Eras Tour setlist to make space for The Tortured Poets Department. “no body no crime”, her country-noir collab with Haim is toe-tappingly theatrical, while “marjorie”, an ode to Taylor’s grandma, is bittersweetly beautiful and impossibly atmospheric.

Taylor returned to writing partner Aaron Dessner after the success of Folklore, and while this album isn’t quite as good as its predecessor, it’s still a beautiful album that hones Taylor’s expert storytelling skills. Also, its deluxe version gave us “right where you left me” (“help, I’m still at the restaurant”, for any TikTok aficionados), and for that I’ll be forever grateful.

I can already hear the gasps…a fan favourite album and the number one choice of many of my friends, 2017’s Reputation marked a distinct turn stylistically for Taylor, ushering in an era of black lipstick and snake symbolism, and coining the term “Reputation era”.

It’s thematically distinct as well as defiant, and its edgy first single, “Look What You Made Me Do,” practically broke the internet – whether or not it’s (slightly corny), “I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now…” is nothing short of iconic. The bass-heavy “Ready for It?” also became a clear staple of the era, but beyond its score-settling numbers, the introspective hit “Delicate” and the smoothly intimate “Dress” brought additional dynamism to the album.

Like others, I was pretty shocked when I first heard this album, as it felt so un-Taylor Swift like it didn’t seem real, but I’ve grown to enjoy this album more over time, especially as she continues to experiment with genres and prove she can pretty much do anything. And hearing the rock undertones of this album live? Truly electric.

Lyrically sublime and more a work of poetry than The Tortured Poets Department (sorry), 2020’s Folklore is another seasonal staple that enters my musical lexicon the second it’s “August” – it’s magical, melancholic, and slightly more narratively elevated than Evermore.

Described by Taylor as “a collection of songs and stories that flowed like a stream of consciousness” on her Instagram, critics praised its authenticity, with Billboard calling the tender track “invisible string” “one of the flat-out greatest songs Swift has ever written”. I adore “Betty”, a charming coming-of-age tale, as well as the haunting whimsy of both “illicit affairs” and “cardigan”.

Folklore is a near-perfect compendium on life, love, and loss, complimented by the mastery of both Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, who co-wrote and produced the songs remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sonic shift for Taylor (though not as unexpected as Reputation), she leaned into her roots as a storyteller – and it paid off. You’ll notice I don’t really have anything bad to say about it, as we’re kind of getting to the point where every album is near-perfect…

Laden with 80s-inspired synths and indescribably catchy hooks, 1989 truly propelled Taylor to global stardom – not that she wasn’t iconic already, but the difference in what I paid to attend both the Red and 1989 tours truly can't be understated.

Generally considered her first full pop album, it earned Taylor her second Grammy Award for Album of the Year, after first winning for Fearless in 2010. Enter any shop in 2014 and try not to hear either “Shake It Off” or “Blank Space”, which remain some of the most recognisable pop anthems of all time. Two of my favourite tracks from both the original and deluxe – the fervent spirit of “New Romantics” and the quiet stillness of “This Love” – illustrate that Taylor didn’t sacrifice her renowned lyricism when she made the genre hop.

Through “Taylor’s Version”, released in 2023, we also got five bonus “From The Vault” tracks, including the short but punchy “Now That We Don’t Talk” and the defiant “Slut!”, a reference to old media narratives perpetuated about Taylor set to a slow, ethereal beat. It’s an unbelievably fun album, albeit with a few overplayed songs, that truly deserves its top-five spot.

Justice for Taylor Swift, her debut album, released in 2006, because why is this always ranked so low on everybody’s lists? While it’s certainly her most country-sounding album, which is not everyone’s cup of tea, the raw talent displayed in its songs illustrates why she became so successful.

From the earnest lyrics displayed in its biggest hits like “Tim McGraw”, named after the country superstar, and the wistful introspection of “Teardrops on My Guitar”, it’s hard to believe she was only 16 years old when this album was released. Also, “Should’ve Said No” has to be one of the top 10 Taylor tracks of all time.

It’s not as refined as her later stuff, but there’s no reason it would be – it’s an intimate look at her developing artistry, and it laid the groundwork for one of the most transcendent music careers of all time. Give it another listen, and think of it as looking back on a collection of beloved childhood memories. And although some people aren’t partial to the fiddles, pickup trucks, and other country staples, aren’t we all wearing cowboy boots now?

This particular album makes me long for the days of physical media, because I have such clear memories of waiting by the front door for the postman to deliver this album on its release day. Her last collection of music, promoted as country, Red, came out on 22 October 2012 and delivered track after track of classic Taylor lyricism paired with genre-bending sound.

The album was super adventurous, even dabbling in electronic on popular tracks like “I Knew You Were Trouble”, while honing in on acoustic elements, a staple of her previous albums, in graceful tracks like “Begin Again” and the hauntingly bittersweet “Sad Beautiful Tragic”. And of course, not only did this album deliver “All Too Well”, but its subsequent 10-minute version that was released with “Taylor’s Version” in 2021, fuelling a new generation of Swifties pouring over the symbolism of her missing scarf.

This was such an iconic era for Taylor, reinvigorated by her re-recording and the film adaptation of “All Too Well” directed by Taylor herself, though I still think we passed over “Nothing New”, her beautifully vulnerable collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers, way too soon. This album has something for everyone – and also marked the first time she started rocking her signature bangs, which made me feel fashion-forward as an awkward 13-year-old.

This was the first of the five albums Taylor decided to re-record, and rightfully so, because we simply couldn’t have gone much longer without getting to jam out to this album. The soundtrack of my childhood, and the work which produced hits like “You Belong with Me” and “Love Story”, Fearless is sheer music perfection that rightfully earned Taylor her first Grammy for Album of the Year in 2010.

From “White Horse”, the heartbreaking ballad that strips away the fairytale idealism of romance, to her criminally underrated first official collaboration, “Breathe” with Colbie Caillat, the album balances somber lyricism with energetic pop undertones, showcasing her multifaceted nature as a musician and co-writer alongside her frequent early collaborator, Liz Rose.

The album is a noticeable step-up production-wise from her debut, and you can noticeably hear Taylor becoming more comfortable with her sound and genre as she soars through all 19 timeless tunes on Fearless: Platinum Edition. The re-recording also gave us “From the Vault” tracks like the upbeat breakup anthem “Mr. Perfectly Fine”, and “That’s When”, a nostalgic collaboration with Keith Urban.

Fearless is nothing short of pure Taylor Swift nostalgia – that’s still refreshingly exciting to hear nearly 17 years after its initial release. Like she sings in its titular song, “I don’t know how it gets better than this…”

Speak Now is Taylor’s magnum opus, and imagine my sheer surprise when I rocked up to the Eras Tour in a purple-themed outfit, only to find she only played one single song from this masterpiece. 

It almost feels wrong to love this album so much – it’s packed with powerful breakup anthems and devastatingly poignant lyrics that lay bare a difficult chapter in her life. But the vulnerability is simply irresistible. The rich lyrics of “Dear John”, written about her breakup with John Mayer, read like pages from a novel, while “Better Than Revenge” (a top three Taylor track in my opinion) channels raw emotion into a biting, theatrical takedown. “Haunted” is another showstopper, a dark orchestral power ballad that Taylor also recorded in acoustic form for the album’s deluxe edition.

For the album’s re-release in 2023, Taylor released six “From the Vault” tracks, including the jaunty bop “I Can See You”, which featured a music video with ex Taylor Lautner, bringing a sense of closure to the raw devastation displayed in “Back to December”. So while it may be emblematic of a more difficult period in Taylor’s life, it’s a chapter that can be revisited with fresh eyes.

Speak Now is a cathartic masterpiece that has truly been my favourite since its release – and while I definitely have shown a penchant for Taylor’s older albums, will The Life of a Showgirl knock it out of the top spot? Time to go and listen.