In fact, most every song is stripped to a softer core than we've ever heard from Taylor before, with the exception of some past anomalies (re: Reputation's "New Years Day"). Taylor Swift's 10 seminal albums, ranked In honor of her instant-classic, record-breaking new LP Midnights , here's EW's ranking of Taylor Swift's 10 studio albums from her illustrious career. Midnights is simultaneously a rare treat and a return to normalcy. 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. As if the gift of folklore's acoustic stylings wasn't a treat enough, Taylor conceived a surprise sister album like clockwork during her end-of-year creative storm, amidst filming the Long Pond Studio Sessions documentary and re-recording Fearless. As J. English penned for NPR in 2017, this album really helped solidify Swift's identity in the music world. Reputation is, without a doubt, Taylor's most polarizing work to date. 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. 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. The distorted vocal effects and shifts in dynamics on I Knew You Were Trouble heighten the sense of frustration that drives the song, and the driving rhythm section on Holy Ground reflects Swifts reminiscence of a lover who took off faster than a green light, go. Not all of the songs here are so keenly observedState of Grace and I Almost Do lack the specificity thats one of Swifts songwriting trademarks, while the title track underwhelms with its train of pedestrian similes and metaphorsbut if Reds highlights were career-best work for Swift at the time. 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. Keefe, Folklore is neither a culmination of Swifts career to date nor a pivot in a new direction. Her self-titled debut stood as her lone and tall titan at the time of its 2006 release, which was immediately met with commercial and critical success, catapulting a then-16-year-old Swift to stardom almost overnight. What condemns 1989's position at the lower third of this list then is the sad truth that some of the choruses rotating here sound like they could have been parsed out to much-lesser 2010s pop stars. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. It's hard to say. There were TikTok teasers to reveal the track titles, but beyond that fans weren't given many clues about what to expect from the album. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Songs range from edgy and confident with "I Did Something Bad" to breathy and beautiful with "Dress," all the while playing with different musical styles and production effects. She colors its lyrics and soundscapes between the clear cut, ear candy lines a hint of bubblegum pop, a dash of animated movie-anthem flair (it's a miracle that "ME!" 1989. rep. Red. First emerging as a country-crossover artist, shes since embraced glossy pure pop and indie-folk; but while her sound may have changed, Swifts brilliantly honest lyricism and songwriting talent has remained a keystone in her tunes. Read on for a ranking of all of Swift's albums, from least to most iconic in descending order. The tongue-in-cheek I Forgot That You Existed is a strutting reminder of Swifts skills as a lyricist. ranking every taylor swift song - YouTube 0:00 / 1:02:35 ranking every taylor swift song julia cudney 186K subscribers Subscribe 12K Share 235K views 2 years ago spotify. In the 2017 article, Jenkins also noted that this album features hip-hop influences, something Swift hasn't really done before. At just 20-years-old before she had even fully blossomed out of country's genre barriers Taylor had mastered the delicate balance of detailing the life moments blurred between adolescence and adulthood. Its not just the shock drop that felt different, though, as musically it saw Swift dive head-first into a new sonic palette of wistful indie-folk. October 26, 2022. To celebrate the release of Swifts tenth album Midnights, here we take a look back on Taylor Swifts entire career and rank her ten albums in order of greatness. If nothing else, the album proves shes unwilling to operate on anyones terms other than her own. There's no question her most recent two albums are related, as "Evermore" has a similar sound and features nods to "Folklore. 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"). It saw Swift push back at a narrative that saw her portrayed as vengeful and bitter, an image that had been thrust upon her by the media and exacerbated by her very public, very long-running beef with Kanye West (first started when he infamously interrupted Taylor Swifts acceptance speech at the VMAs, and regularly reignited by the Kardashian-West clan). Two things before we get into the list: 1. Too many of us have felt like the monster on the hill encroaching on a peaceful city, the devastated partygoer in the blood-soaked gown, the midnight raining on a kindred spirit's sunlight, the lovesick loner lost in a labyrinth of their own making. Shes described it as a sister record to the aforementioned Folklore; where that record allowed Swift to completely reinvent her sound, coupling her trademark hooks and vibrant storytelling with indie-folk instrumentals, Evermore exudes a new sense of confidence. 176. Some stories are symphonic semi-pop anthems ("Enchanted," "Haunted"), while others are country ballads dressed with electric guitars, as seen in "Dear John"'s interrogation of a 32-year-old lover's sway on a still-teen girl ("Don't you think 19's too young to be played by your dark, twisted games?"). So while still an undeniably amazing album, and a true testament to her style's shape-shifting abilities, she can and has done better than 1989 even if it was her second go-around for Album of the Year. And theres what Swift has called The Teenage Love Triangle, a trio of songs (Betty, Cardigan and August) that explore a knotty romance from three peoples perspectives. The definitive ranking of Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' songs. Jonathan Keefe. And on Midnights, Taylor turns to us, yet again. to ultimate effect (and influence to mega-fan Olivia Rodrigo's raucous debut). True, this album successfully acted as a reminder that Swift is a powerhouse musician who shouldnt be messed with. Casting aside the usual lengthy album campaigns or meticulously planned drip-feeding of singles, T-Swiz uncharacteristically announced Folklore the day before it was released. First contact is a shock, a singe that lingers and radiates energy, next a scab, hardening as it heals, before calming into a scar you carry, listening to, forevermore. Though the album is gorgeously hooky as a whole, and overall perfect for belting in the car for a pick-me-up, it's not hard to imagine Katy Perry or even Demi Lavato as a stand-in singer for the LP's lowest moments. 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. some of the music released later in her career. Like folklore, much of evermore is made up of somber soliloquies that materialize like a fine mist over a field in the dead of winter. evermore - 85. evermore was Swift's ninth studio album. 1 as it best represents the evolution of Swift and her music. Sure, this album has its highs and lows and is filled with impressive tracks, but it ranks below others because although it feels like many things she does here (like haunting lyrics and pop beats) are things she's done before and a bit better in her previous releases. i. While tracks like Cardigan and Invisible Strings hinge on protracted metaphors, Mad Woman and Peace are blunt and plainspoken. Swifts most recent release is a glittering return to pure-pop music. 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. This new sound may not be a far cry from the original, but to the trained Swiftie's ear, these small changes culminate into a noticeably "richer" listening experience from all angles. folklore in comparison merely flirts along the edges of pop mantras on songs like "the last great american dynasty" and the deeply affecting "mirrorball," while veering straight into indie-folk influence on "illicit affairs" and the finger-plucked "invisible string," among others. But over a decade later, Taylor makes the incredible move of re-recording her teenaged relics almost note-for-note, now at 31 years old. It marks a shift from the retro-minded pop-rock of 1989 toward a harder, more urban aesthetic, and Swift wears the stiff, clattering beats of songs like Ready for It? like body armor. If the black-and-white cover art didn't let you know this one would be different, the first song she released off the album, "Look What You Made Me Do," says it all. 'All You Had To Do Was Stay' - '1989' Article Continues Below Don't get me wrong, "All You Had To Do Was Stay" is an amazing song that fits perfectly into. But as Pitchfork critic Anna Gaca pointed out, the album may be honest and genuine, but it feels uneven with how much it sways from garish pop singles like "ME!" The music of folklore takes its time to unfurl, ivory keys yawning at dusk, acoustic strings waking at daybreak. All necessary praise aside, one of the great joys of tracing Taylor Swift's arc is seeing her sound bleed across genres, from country and pop to (half-baked) hip-hop and folk and back. Yet its the lyricism that makes Folklore such an astonishing album, with Swift writing both from her own point of view, as well as exploring other peoples. 1989 signifies a rebirth of sorts for Taylor, not just because it's named after her actual birth year, but more due to its status as her first seismic genre shift. A 20-year-old Taylor, mid-transition from childhood to adulthood, draws from that dizzying dysphoria and uses it to refine her already awe-inspired songwriting. She's an artist defined by eras (as is the name of her heavily anticipated upcoming tour) a Reputation era for self-defense, a Lover era for romantic solace which her adoring fans latch onto and assign to their own life stages with fervor. Expectations were sky high, raising the stakes with them; just how close can Taylor fly to the sun? But before expanding on her honeymoon phase, we're treated to the tour-de-force track "Cruel Summer" (not a Bananarama cover), a buzzer-beating, angst-wielding anthem that's among the greatest pop songs her auteur has ever crafted. That said, this album ranked below the others as it plays it a bit safer than some of the music released later in her career. The album's comedown is a moment of quiet reflection carried by a piano's lone lullaby, when the festivities are over, the partygoers are gone, and all that's left is a lover for the long haul ("I want your midnights / But I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day"). Rather, their relative simplicity only adds to Fearless' charm, bridging the old with the new a woman's voice singing a girl's anthems to make a once good album now great. 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