As Taylor Swift prepares to embark on her Eras Tour in 2023, I celebrated the announcement with an immediate journey down memory lane to relisten to all of her old albums. As a die-hard Swiftie since the “Taylor Swift” era, every album holds a special place in my heart, each with its own unique reason.
That makes ranking every one of Taylor’s albums from worst to best a difficult job – but someone has got to do it. And that person is me. Here is every single album, including the recordings.
12) ‘Taylor Swift’
Released in 2006, “Taylor Swift” was the very first album from Taylor, firmly located in her country music era. While there are some absolute bangers on this album (I’m looking at you, “Picture to Burn”), I think you can tell that her songwriting and vocals were slightly more immature. The singer was 17 years old when she recorded this album and while the star she would become is visible, it’s not shining quite as bright as some of her other albums.
11) Folklore
Now this is where the Swifties are divided. Some people love the Evermore/Folklore era; others don’t. While I’m glad that Taylor has had her cosy, sweater-weather, grown-up time, I will always be more of a pop fan. “Folklore” has a fair few songs that I love, but I’ll rarely put the whole album on for a straight play-through – and isn’t that what Taylor Swift is all about?
10) “Evermore”
“Evermore” falls into a similar category to “Folklore”, but earns a higher place simply because there are more songs that I regularly come back to on this album. Special mention has to go to “champagne problems”, “ivy”, and “long story short” for hitting me in the heart every. Single. Time.
9) “Midnights”
This may not be a fair ranking as I’ve not had as much tie to sit with this album – but who cares about fair? This is my list, not a democracy. “Midnights” is certainly a masterpiece and I’ve listened to virtually nothing else since it came out. But is it more of a masterpiece than the rest of Taylor’s discography? For me, not yet.
8) “Lover”
Taylor’s ethereal fairy princess era might have some of my favorite looks and there are a fair few of my favorite songs on this album as well. Plus, Taylor truly said range when she wrote this album, with “Death by a Thousand Cuts” best listened to heartbroken in the shower and “The Man” giving enough energy to smash the entire patriarchy with one hand. A solid all-round album that I’ve loved since the first listen.
7) “Reputation”
I mean, I truly only have one word: iconic. The music videos, the sass, the resurgence of Taylor’s confidence and her taking her place as one of the music industry’s absolute icons. Just look at this picture. Look at it. Enough said.
6) “1989”
This album is truly playable from start to finish, no skips. “1989” was Taylor’s first full foray into pop, moving away from her country music roots. She strutted her way through the vocals of “Blank Space”, she took names in “Bad Blood”, and she came back to the heartbreaking emotions in “Clean”. Perfection, from start to finish.
5) “Speak Now”
Taking it back to 2010, “Speak Now” is Taylor’s third album – and rumored to be the next one of her re-recordings to be released. For me, this album perfectly balances the more naive, innocent topics of Taylor’s youth with her slightly more mature vocals for a beautiful album. It’s got pop, it’s got country, it’s got badass vibes – what more do you need it?
4) “Fearless”
This one might be down to nostalgia, but “Fearless” will always hold a special place in my heart. “Fearless” is when Taylor graduated from local country singer to world-class songwriter. There’s too many incredible songs to mention, but the fact that the first few notes of “Love Story” is enough to give me goosebumps says it all.
3) “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)”
In this house, we’re loyal to Taylor, which means her versions will always come first. Plus, having the nostalgia of the old songs reimagined with her mature vocals is a gorgeous experience. She truly knows how to give her fans what they want.
2) “Red”
“Red” has my favorite songs, my favorite era, my favorite everything. For me, it’s one of Taylor’s most raw albums, covering some of her most vulnerable and heartbreaking moments. This is the album that captured so many fans and transformed them from casual fans to die-hard Swifties.
1) “Red (Taylor’s Version)”
And of course: “Red (Taylor’s Version)”. What other album could have sparked a short film, a flurry of new songs, and a nine-year campaign to hear a 10-minute version of one of the songs? Just iconic and the best of the lot.
(featured image: Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)
