Nobody asked for this, and I don’t know how many people will care about my ranking of every Taylor Swift album. But here we are, because why not and because I can. Just a mild disclaimer: once we get to the middle of the list, the order can really change depending on my mood or my current music tastes/interests. Let’s discuss and maybe you can change my mind!

9. Reputation

If you know me at all, this will not come as a surprise. I’ve come around on it since I went through my pop music phase, but it remains my least favorite of Taylor Swift’s albums. The songs aren’t very memorable to me and just aren’t my jam sonically. There are few that I enjoy, such as Getaway Car, King of My Heart, New Year’s Day, but many of the songs are just too on the nose for me. And while I suppose it’s the point of the album, it’s too over the head on Taylor-as-a-celebrity for my enjoyment.

8. 1989

Truthfully, this has somehow become the most forgettable of her albums. I don’t not like…I just often forget it exists. Funnily, this album was the one that solidified my turn away from Taylor’s music — which Reputation solidified. The album does have one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs, Clean and has some great bonus tracks. But in her turn to true pop, I think some of her lyrics got watered down. As such, I think this is her weakest album lyrically. Feel free to argue with me about it…I could always listen to the album more closely.

7. Taylor Swift

Now we’re reaching the part of the list that is constantly changing (and I might even swap this and 1989). I actually think that her early songs have aged pretty well. She sounds young, but the lyrics continue to resonate with me. Whether that’s because of nostalgia or because of the lyrics themselves is a debatable. But she – and I – have evolved a lot so it’s on to bigger and better.

6. Lover

I’m literally changing this list as I type it! I suppose Lover gets slotted in here because it’s such a mixed bag. Overall, I like the direction of it. There are some songs I really don’t like and usually skip (Me!, You Need to Calm Down, It’s Nice to Have a Friend, London Boy if I’m not in the mood for it), but there’s also some great songs here and some tracks I truly can’t get enough of. Cruel Summer, Cornelia Street, and Lover are particular stand-outs. This album kind of reminds me, thematically, of George Ezra’s sophomore album (Staying at Tamara’s) in its more optimistic outlook, and it’s lovely to see an album with a brighter sound. Especially after Reputation. This album convinced me to pay attention to Taylor Swift again.

5. Fearless

This one is probably the most interesting one to dissect in terms of where it falls on my list. For a while, it became too “young” for me, much like Taylor’s debut album. But again speaking to the staying power and the way the songs have aged, I think this holds up even more surprisingly well. The songs still resonate, the bonus tracks are still wonderful, and I think as long as you keep in mind her age when she wrote them, many of the songs are actually way more mature than I had remembered.

4. Speak Now

I’m a little surprised myself that Speak Now is 4th because I don’t actually listen to it now as much as I do some of the albums lower on the list. Many of the songs actually aged worse, in my opinion, than the tracks on albums down-list. This was truly fairytale, storytelling era Taylor Swift, so many of those songs just don’t resonate with me anymore, lyrically or melodically (eg. Mine, Sparks Fly, Mean, Better than Revenger (I was never a huge fan of this one)). However, a good portion of the songs are still just. so. good. Back to December, Haunted, Last Kiss, Dear John. I mean, those are still absolute GOLD. Also, this album was probably the first one where I truly started to pay attention to Swift’s songwriting and tried to learn from it.

3. evermore

Down to the top three. I don’t think any of these are a surprise. When I first heard evermore, I was a bit unsure. Yeah, I liked it, but there was something about it that caused me to pause. I think that the emotion on the album isn’t as strong for me, despite it being beautifully put together in terms of lyrics, storytelling, and even melodically, which is why it sits where it does on this list.

It’s certainly a more experimental album and sound than its sister album. Interestingly, I think of evermore as early Taylor meets folklore. On top of the folklore vibes, I hear influences from 1989 and Speak Now in particular. It might be the storytelling, fairytale aspect of Speak Now that I’m reminded of, but evermore really seems like the mature older sibling of that album.

After several listens, I now can’t get the songs on the album out of my head. I’ve since gone back to listen through The National’s discography (having formerly gone through it when they collaborated with Justin Peck for the Dark Side of the Gym music video), and you can definitely tell that there was an influence on this album in particular – in a good way!

2. Red

I used to always feel conflicted about Red because it was the first time I thought that I might stop listening to Taylor Swift’s music and featured some of my least favorite singles, but it also featured Taylor’s peak songwriting pre-folklore. I mean. All Too Well, Treacherous, The Last Time, I Almost Do, etc. Need I say more??

And even those singles and pop songs that I didn’t love (WANEGBT, IKYWT)? Now that I’ve listened to more pop, they’re fine. There’s better pop music, but now it probably wouldn’t turn me off of an artist’s work. Also, I ironically sang 22 so much the year that my friends and I turned 22 that I’m whatever about it.

1. folklore

If you know me, this is also not a surprise. This blew everything out of the water. Especially in 2020. This was everything I needed and more, and it made me 100% a Swiftie again. This is surely Taylor’s most cohesive work in years, possibly ever. That doesn’t work for everyone, but I think she gets emotions and tones exactly right here. Not every song is heavy, but there are sad songs that just gut me (looking at you, hoax). Also that Bon Iver collab? Ugh, yes!

I also really enjoy the whole premise of folklore, and I think she straddles the line of fiction and reality best in folklore (when comparing folklore and evermore). And then if you watch the Long Pond Studio Sessions, you realize the many deeper layers to many of the songs that you (or at least I) did not originally pick up on.

Her lyrics are truly impeccable and a true inspiration to me here, and she plays just enough with melody to interest me but again, in an extremely cohesive way. It’s both difficult and easy to listen to this album on repeat (difficult because of the emotions). folklore reminded me of why I looked to Taylor as inspiration as a singer-songwriter, and it, with evermore, undoubtedly played a role in inspiring me to pick up my guitar again, to explore melody, and to try to start songwriting again. It’s just SO GOOD.

How would you rank Taylor Swift’s albums? How much do you disagree with me, and why?