Ranking All of Taylor Swift’s Nine Studio Albums
Taylor Swift began her illustrious career as a singer and songwriter when she was still in her teenage years. Her first work was in the country music scene and was well-accepted. She was a phenomenon who made a transition to pop music not far into her career. She became known for writing about her life experiences which left more than a few guys leery of dating her, but the public loved it. Here are the nine studio albums released by the pop music diva, ranked following their popularity.
9. Taylor Swift
According to Slant Magazine, her self-titled album “Taylor Swift” released in 2006 is the ninth most popular studio album the singer has released to date. This was her debut album that showed off her amazing songwriting talent and it helped her become firmly established as a respected singer and songwriter. Although there were a few rough spots in the writing that she needed to work out, the teen received high praise for her efforts and began to amass a huge following of fans.
8. Fearless
Fearless is ranked as the 8th best album of Swift’s career. It was released just two years after her debut album, arriving in 2008. Fearless showed evidence that the songwriter had matured in her skill with a more honed and polished finish. The dogs on this album leaned more toward the pop genre as it spoke of teen infatuations and how first love can go bad. Swift’s lack of experience in the adult world limited her scope of writing but the album was still a success, although not one of her greatest works.
7. Speak Now
Speak Now is the third album Swift released. It went on sale to the public in 2010. Fans were anxious for more new songs as Taylor had gotten their attention through the hooks in her lyrical style. The songs also showed more evidence that Swift was becoming a better songwriter with improved structure and weighty emotional pulls. The songs on this album were written from her point of view which gave fans greater insight into who she was, and they liked it.
6. 1989
1989 was released in 2014. This is the pivotal album that separated Taylor Swift from any remnants of her country roots. It was decidedly in the pop genre complete with music and lyrics. The most notable song on the album is “I Know Places.” 1989 is a favorite of many Taylor Swift fans who themselves were making a transition from listening to county music to pop.
5. Red
Red was released in 2012, on schedule with the pattern she developed for releasing a new studio album every other year. Red featured components of both pop and country music. Notable titles on the album include “Starlight,” a popular dance number with a contemporary vibe, and “Holy Ground, with a country-rock essence. There were a few songs on the album that didn’t do much for her career and remained unnoticed by most including “I Almost Do,” and “State of Grace,” which seemed to take away from the balance of the album in its entirety. All in all, it was an album that had a few good songs and others that seemed to be little more than fillers if you asked the average Taylor Swift fan. Some of the writing could have been improved, but it is ranked as her fifth-best studio album of all time, putting it somewhere in the middle of her most successful work.
4. Lover
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y0F1dEqXG8
The album Lover was released in 2019. It came at a time when a lot was going on for Swift. She had just completed her music video for ME! starring Brendan Urie of Panic! At the Disco. This was an album that was upbeat and cast Taylor in a more positive light after a period that was characterized by turmoil and petty squabbles with other musicians and celebrity personalities. The most notable tracks on the album were “Cruel Sumer,” “Death by a Thousand Cuts,” and “Lover.” Lesser notice tracks include “Afterglow” and “Cornelia Street.”
3. Reputation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T62maKYX9tU&list=PLV1bhAAf21cSxHaqUDyG1meQz3hUPi4eO
Reputation is ranked as Taylor Swift’s third-best album of all time. It was released in 2017 and achieved a ranking of 7.5 out of 10, according to SCMP. The most notable track on the album was “Look What You Made Me Do.” This was a pivotal time in Swift’s career as she worked to establish her niche in the pop genre. This was a transformational period that was good for her career singing about the likes of Kanye West. Other notable tracks on the album were “Getaway Car,” “Call It What You Want,” and “Delicate.” The most underrated song on the album was “New Year’s Day.”
2. Evermore
Evermore was released in 2020. It’s one of Taylor’s newest releases. Fans gave it an overall rating of 8 out of 10, which elevates it to the second-best album of all time for Ms. Swift. The album was released for sale to the public in December of 2020, just in time for Christmas gift-giving, which was a brilliant marketing plan. It is yet another album that shows her versatility as she returns to poetic lyrics and folk-style music. Although not one of her most emotionally charged albums, The most notable tracks on the album were “Champagne Problems, ” “No Body No Crime,” and “Willow,” with “Dorothea,” and “Closure” as the most underrated songs on the release.
1. Folklore
The top-rated album of Taylor Swift’s career so far is Folklore. The album is released just a year before Evermore. Taylor Swift has been hard at work this past year and the two releases were so close that there was barely time for fans to become acquainted with the songs in the first when the second dropped. Folklore dropped in July of 2020 and it featured an acoustic-folk personality with intricate lyrics. This could be the best album of her career unless she has a magical bag of tricks to pull from. it’s hard to beat her honest and emotional approach to songwriting in this album. The most notable tracks on Folklore include “Exile,” “August,” and “Betty,” with “Invisible String as the most underrated song on the album. It stands as just one more example of how Taylor Swift is continually recreating her image as an artist. It is nothing short of a masterpiece.
