In 2006, when a little-known artist named Taylor Swift dropped her debut album at the age of 16, no one could have predicted how much influence she would have on the music industry today. Since her debut, Swift has released nine more albums, won 12 Grammy awards (three for album of the year) and was named the Time Person of the Year for 2023.
Swift is about to start the next leg of her Eras Tour in Tokyo and is in the midst of re-releasing her first six albums after a dispute about ownership with her former record executive Scooter Braun. Swift has already re-recorded four albums, regaining her ownership of Fearless, Red, Speak Now and 1989.
As she re-starts her Eras Tour, we take a look at her entire career, ranking her ten albums and deciding which era is Swift’s best.
Ground Rules: When ranking albums, I will be using the re-recorded versions of albums. Additionally, the deluxe versions of albums will be used when applicable to include bonus songs.
*Ratings will be controversial*
10. Taylor Swift (2006)
While many Taylor Swift albums get better over time, this album is the exception. Listening to Taylor Swift is like cooking and mistaking salt for sugar—unpleasant from the get-go, and you don’t acquire a taste no matter how many times you try it. With Swift’s country roots come the traditional twangs and yee-haw moments almost every country singer has come to use. While the album displays Swift’s sincere vocal delivery, it is overshadowed by the lyrics that read like a musical Groundhog Day, stuck in an endless loop of teenage heartbreak, cowboy boots and angst. Yet even in the midst of her worst album, Swift can still provide some good songs with “Our Song” and “Tim McGraw.” But the album suffers from many poorly written songs such as “Cold as You,” “Tied Together with a Smile” and “Mary’s Song (Oh My My My).” Swift’s debut album reminds us how beginnings can be rough, and is a testament to how far Swift has come. Despite that, it does deserve to be put last.
Score: 2.3/10
Best Song: Our Song
Worst Song: Mary’s Song (Oh My My My)—PS: “Oh my my my” is how I feel when I hear this song.
9. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2008 & 2021)–Grammy for Album of the Year
Swift’s second studio album, “Fearless,” dwells in the unforgiving arms of unremarkability. The sophomore album has many moments of charm, especially the album’s opening song “Fearless” but struggles to create a distinctive identity away from Swift’s first album. Themes of young love and relatability feel well worn from Swift, and the album doesn’t bring any freshness that newer ones have come to know. The music leans a tiny bit more pop than her first album, but Fearless doesn’t take enough of a fearless move to make it something new. The album still provides some bangers like “Fearless,” “Hey Stephen” and “Forever and Always,” but the 26-song album is filled with too many placeholders like “Breathe (Feat. Colbie Caillat),” for it to be considered any higher.
Score: 3.8/10
Best Song: Fearless
Worst Song: Breathe (Feat. Colbie Caillat)
8. Lover (2019)
Ruined by the two singles “You Need to Calm Down” and “ME! Feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At the Disco,” Lover is an album of ups and downs. While her album reputation was risky, daring and unconventional, Swift returns to her tried and true love fantasies. The bubble gum pop album is covered in whimsical daydreams, paper rings and LOTS of fun love songs. The main problem with Lover is that Swift was happy in her life when writing it as she was in a relationship with now–ex-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. It seems Swift writes best in struggling relationships which doesn’t apply to Lover. Yet the album still delivers bangers with “Cruel Summer,” “Death by a Thousand Cuts,” “Cornelia Street,” “The Archer” and “Daylight.” It’s just a few cheesy kindergarten pop songs on the album that cause me-e-e not to rank it any higher.
Score: 5.1/10
Best Song: Daylight
Worst Song: ME! (Feat: Brendon Urie of Panic! At the Disco)
7. Midnights (2022)
Just when we all thought Taylor Swift had left pop and entered the indie/alternative genre, she returned with the synth-pop smash hit album Midnights. Her tenth and most recent album (not counting re-releases), Midnights explores 13 sleepless nights offering a softer yet still pop sound known in her earlier albums. Swift explores cool and different sound effects throughout the album making the beat infectious, as if you would see synchronized dancers bopping to it in the kitchen at 3 a.m. But the 13 sleepless nights do cause the album to be a bit of a journey that is full of miscues and flat songs. The bonus tracks on the album elevate Midnights but songs on the original album like “Question…?” ruin the vibe. Still, on the main album she comes away with “You’re On Your Own Kid,” a solid song about the struggles of being young. Overall, it’s the patchiness and uncertain theme that harm more than help this album.
Score: 6.2/10
Best Song: Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve
Worst Song: Question…?
6. Red (Taylor’s Version) (2012 & 2021)
In her first albums, love is beautiful and mystical, but in Red, it’s “burning red” and “a ruthless game.” Red was released in 2012 and with it came Swift’s ambition to make something new. The album has songs with mostly pop and some country vibe to them. Red has Swift’s single greatest hit, “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version),” which summarizes the relationship of Swift and ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal using the symbol of a scarf. Additionally, Red is the album that has benefited the most from Swift’s re-recordings spanning 30 songs lasting a total of two hours and ten minutes and containing the best vault songs (new songs on re-recorded albums) on any re-record. There are also underrated songs with “The Last Time (feat. Gary Lightbody)” and “Begin Again.” Swift was still inexperienced, and her undeveloped songwriting causes the album to miss the top five. Additionally, the lyrics don’t stray far enough from Speak Now, its superior predecessor, to make it something fresh and move up the list.
Score: 7.8/10
Best Song: All Too Well (10 Minute Version)
Worst Song: Sad Beautiful Tragic
5. reputation (2017)
From “…Ready For It?” to “New Year’s Day,” reputation is the most ambitious album on Swift’s discography. Released in 2017, the album comes from a time of turmoil when Swift was feuding with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian while also receiving negative media attention. For Swift, the logical thing was to make an electric, in your face record about her flailing reputation. This is central to the album’s single “Look What You Made Me Do.” While some songs are absolute skips like “End Game feat. Ed Sheeran and Future” (why would you make a rap-like song with Taylor Swift?), the album also contains beautiful, light songs like “Dress” and” Call it What You Want.” By the end of the album, it is really Swift who wins as “New Year’s Day” perfectly wraps the album up talking about how she’ll be okay. Overall, reputation is Swift’s most misunderstood album from the media and is a beautiful work even with some skips.
Score: 8.7/10
Best Song: Call it What You Want
Worst Song: End Game feat. Ed Sheeran and Future
4. evermore (2020)
When I listened to the first ten songs on evermore, I instantly thought that it would be my favorite… then “cowboy like me” came on. evermore was released in November of 2020, less than five months after its sister album, folklore, was released. The pandemic-era album continues folklore’s poetic lyrics as it weaves original and intricate lines into calm, indie-sounding music. Themes of witchcraft, love, loss and nostalgia are all at the forefront of each song, especially the single “willow.” Swift continues the expert lyric-writing from folklore as each lyric relates to Swift as an artist herself, which culminates into the best song on the album “ivy.” The worst part of the album hits when “cowboy like me” starts, which depicts Taylor Swift as a cowboy hustler (seems pretty unrealistic, Ms. Billionaire). The album doesn’t get any better until “evermore (feat. Bon Iver)” returns to the original theme. Still, the beginning carries the album and makes it the most underrated Taylor Swift album.
Score: 9.1/10
Best Song: ivy
Worst Song: cowboy like me
3. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (2014 & 2023)–Grammy for Album of the Year
“Shake it Off” is arguably Swift’s biggest hit of her career. So it makes sense that it’s the worst on this album. 1989 was released in late 2014 and instantly brought Swift to the pop megastar status she enjoys now. The album is a joyous hour and 17 minutes of big pop effects and sounds that are used in both upbeat and slower songs. The album starts off with a great opening song, “Welcome to New York,” which perfectly welcomes us into Taylor’s new pop era with big noises and pop effects. Throughout the album, the energy stays high and doesn’t let down its pop beat at all. But like every Taylor Swift album, there are winners like Clean,” “New Romantics,” “Say Don’t Go” and “Style” and losers like “Shake it Off” and “Bad Blood.” Overall, the energy and new pop mix of 1989 delivers it to the three spot.
Score: 9.4/10
Best Song: Clean
Worst Song: Shake it Off
2. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (2010 & 2023)
Swift’s only album that she wrote all by herself is also one of her best. While still inside the bounds of country, Swift crafts a record that sees relationships form and break up, while somehow making each one special. Speak Now follows in Fearless’ footsteps, focusing on young love, except this time, her exes are stars and the imaginary conversations are real. This theme is shown in songs like “Dear John” and “Mean” where she calls a harsh critic a liar, pathetic, alone in life, and mean. But it’s Speak Now’s ability to fit a complex emotional dilemma into a three-minute song with passion, clarity and intent that sets the album apart from the rest of her records. It remains consistently good, with the best songs being “Enchanted” and “Sparks Fly,” and the worst song being “Never Grow Up,” which is still a solid song about the urge not to want to move on. The consistency and originality of the stories is what sets Speak Now apart from the rest.
Score: 9.7/10
Best Song: Enchanted
Worst Song: Never Grow Up
1. folklore (2020)–Grammy for Album of the Year
Swift’s folklore was a surprise release in July of 2020 during peak COVID times. What sets folklore apart are its beautiful lyrics and imagery in a time of crisis for many. The central theme is escapism, which allows hurt and lonely people to all go and escape the troubles of isolation. Almost every song is soft and includes either a solo piano or acoustic strings that accompany each series of stories with their different twists. But it’s Swift’s lyrics that make the album something we’ve never seen—something poetic and different. Each song tells a story about human complexities and relationships. There are even storylines across multiple songs (“betty,” “cardigan” and “august”) that can stand alone but together paint a love triangle. From the first song, “the 1,” the atmospheric soundscape is set. Songs like “mirrorball,” “betty” and “the lakes” continue that music while building an intimate connection with the listener. folklore’s invitation into Swift’s world of vulnerability and authenticity is what makes this album reign supreme.
Score: 10/10
Best Song: betty
Worst Song: this is me trying (…to close my eardrums)
All of Swift’s albums have their shining moments and could be considered number ones to some people. Ultimately, this ranking is a reflection of an artist who has embraced change and will continue to make a mark on the music industry for years to come. It also reflects her ups and downs as “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” is a miracle masterpiece and “ME! (Feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At the Disco)” continues to be a menace to society (and yes, you can spell awesome without ME!).