"Swift's usual approach to dabbling in new genres or sounds is to go balls-to-the-wall, but on 'evermore,' she's just as good at curating these more detailed production flourishes, all with the same contouring and meticulousness as she does with her best lyrics," she wrote. She later builds upon this skill with an added emphasis on production and atmosphere, landing victorious (almost) every time. But none before were so intricate and immersive as a whole fictional timeline pieced together from multiple angles in an album just over an hour long. It was all over the place, a fractured mosaic of feelings that somehow all fit together in the end. It's the stuff of shared languages, not unlike our own pensive journal entries when we had nowhere else to turn but the page. by Slant Staff October 25, 2022 1 Photo: Republic Records Taylor Swift started off as a country artist at a time when the genre was both less respectful and accommodating of the voices of women than at any other point in its storied history. Pam Grier reflects on her most iconic roles, from, now backpedaling their initial criticisms, unrequited love looming on the high school bleachers, Professor of Commercial Music explains to EW, reclaiming the masters of her life's work, New Reputation: Taylor Swift shares intel on TS7, fan theories, and her next era, The best song from every Taylor Swift album. Following on from the release of Swift's 10th album 'Midnights', let's take a trip down memory lane and take stock of the superstar's career so far. What makes Taylor's first foray into pop so often irresistible is her ability to rise above the genre's preoccupation with recycled hooks and surface level lyrics. 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"). After the runaway success of country-pop second record Fearless, for Speak Now elements of pop rock, bluegrass and soft rock were added into the mix. For the album ranking, I considered a few factors including cohesiveness, listening experience, the number and quality of standout songs, and if the album is musically interesting or lyrically special. 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. First released in 2008, its original release won the Grammy for Album of the Year, and thirteen years later in 2021, Fearless (Taylors Version) became the first of Swifts re-recorded albums to drop. There are many more parallels to past albums, as revisiting life moments already explored in her previous songs creates yet another treasure map of topics for knowledgeable fans. Editors Note: This article was originally published on July 6, 2021. What follows is a collection of stone-cold glimpses into the ripple effect discontentment has on relationships: the sadness of a seasonal lover, affection and effort met with indifference, infidelity ending in death. This record at last acknowledges that, yes, a pop star idolized by young girls can also be a sexual being, singing of dirty daydreams and undressing with your eyes (the chorus on "Dress" even blatantly mimics the cadence of a mounting orgasm). Taylor Swift's "Folklore" album cover was photographed by Beth Garrabrant. He also noted that this album began to show just how developed Swift's "potential for fury" was and he's right "Picture To Burn" is sassy and confidently filled with anger: "So watch me strike a match on all my wasted time / As far as I'm concerned you're just another picture to burn.". The tracks combined her typical impressive storytelling abilities while tying together strong emotions of frustration that feel at home in "Reputation" (seen in the track "The Man") as well as stories of falling in love and almost losing it that feel at home in "Speak Now" or "Red" (as seen in "Cornelia Street"). Top that, Shakespeare. 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. Meanwhile, The Last Time (featuring Snow Patrols Gary Lightbody) showed a more mature sound with its grandiose alt-rock guitars and soaring melodies. In recent years, shes also become a music business game-changer: most notably for re-recording her first six albums in order to regain control of her masters, which has seen Swift release the Taylors Version of both Red and Fearless. Taylor may be wise beyond her years, but that doesn't spare her from petty rage, especially on "Better Than Revenge" (which is essentially her "Misery Business"), scorning another girl for "the things that she does on the mattress" while likening their shared love interest to a toy on the playground in the next breath. 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!" 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. How often I find myself in the mood to listen to . 'I. Like the "Taylor's Version" before it, 2021's rendition of Red lassos fans' near-decade old affection and nostalgia for the songs and herds them into an encore of adoration. 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. He's right "Folklore" further cements the fact that Swift is in a league all her own and cannot be placed in a stylistic box when it comes to her 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. It's no exaggeration, then, to say almost every emotion has been articulated by Taylor Swift at some point, whether in broad-stroke breakup anthems or close-to-the-chest confessionals. With a record thats a love letter to love itself. It's her only album with skip-every-time songs (why on earth would you force a collab between Future and Ed Sheeran? 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. The albums lyrics only serve to bolster that perception: Swift comes off like a frazzled stay-at-home mom scolding her disobedient children on Look What You Made Me Do and This Is Why We Cant Have Nice Things. But its her willingness to portray herself not as a victim, but the villain of her own story that makes Reputation such a fascinatingly thorny glimpse inside the mind of pops reigning princess. 20: 20. ", Released in 2019 and named after one of the album's singles, "Lover" introduced a new era for Swift one that seemingly had elements of many of her past works, like "1989" and "Speak Now.". She's moved on, but she also wants us to know she's moved on. Swifts most recent release is a glittering return to pure-pop music. But the crowned jewel of the record is obviously the long-waited, 10-minute version of "All Too Well," an expansion on the already sprawling song widely considered by critics and fans alike to be her definitive opus (which, for an artist of Taylor Swift's standing, is absolutely saying something). Certainly, it matters that the two albums were born of the protracted isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic and that collaborators like Bon Iver and the Nationals Aaron Dessner figure prominently on both. "The 1" and "August" tied for the top spot. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Lover is a backtrack in a way. 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. 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"). Speak Now. 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. Tier ranking every single Taylor Swift song was the hardest thing I've ever done lol, so ENJOY! 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. i. His contributions here are uniformly clean and efficient, but plenty of his signature production tics, even if theyre presented here in a fresh context, are beginning to feel overused. Let's be clear: There are no bad Taylor Swift albums. The definitive ranking of Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' songs. Cruel Summer, co-written with St. Vincent, a euphoric three minutes of exhilarating 80s synth-pop, should have been a single. Anyway. Swift has proven herself capable of laughing at herself, thereby defusing the criticisms often levied at her, but with Reputation she created a larger-than-life caricature of the petty, vindictive snake shes been made out to be. Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince, however, is her stock in trade, a richly painted narrative punctuated by cool synth washes and pep-rally chants, while The Archer is quintessential Swift: wistful, minimalist dream pop that displays her willingness to acknowledge and dismantle her own flaws, triggers, and neuroses. 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. The title track, whose lilting rhythm and reverb-soaked drums and vocals are reminiscent of Mazzy Stars 90s gem Fade Into You, and the acoustic Soon Youll Get Better, a tribute to Swifts mother, hark back to the singers pre-pop days, while I Think He Knows and False God evoke Carly Rae Jepsens brand of 80s R&B-inflected electro-pop. Although she claims the old Taylor is dead in the lyrics of "Look What You Made Me Do," we see touches of her "old self" in the softer chorus of otherwise intense "Ready For It?" The rest of the record sees relationships rise and fall like once-great empires reduced to dust, each an individual tragedy set to incessantly hooky choruses. The All Taylor Swift Songs (including Midnights) Tier List below is created by community voting and is the cumulative average rankings from 190 submitted tier lists. You could have at least changed RED/FEARLESS to Taylors version. She's since genre-jumped from country to proper pop, to electro R&B and bare-backed folk. And though Taylor's never been a stranger to love songs, here, she's more sultry than sweet. But this time, we're also met with a subtle lightness, like the calm and clarity that comes after a good cry. says the actress. Marjorie is a tear-jerking tribute to her late grandmother and Justin Vernon-duet Evermore is a euphoric beacon of hope that feels especially poignant at the end of 2020. Standouts tracks on this album also include "Fearless," an easy listen that captures the sweet feelings surrounding new romances; "Fifteen," a young love story that unfolds over several verses; "White Horse," a slow tune featuring lyrics about heartbreak that cut deep; "Love Story," a romantic tale with a fairytale edge; and "The Best Day," an emotional song that is filled with sweet childhood memories. 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. If nothing else, the album proves shes unwilling to operate on anyones terms other than her own. "Cold As You" highlights Swift's talent in writing beautiful lyrics about heartbreak, a key Swift signature: "You put up walls and paint them all a shade of gray / And I stood there loving you, and wished them all away / And you come away with a great little story / Of a mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you.". Perhaps even more impressive is Swifts mastery of song structure. "Champagne Problems" serves as a painful tale of a failed relationship. It's hard to say. Keefe, Nearly every track on Swifts sophomore effort, Fearless, builds to a massive pop hook. And, of course, the other notable solo feat is "Our Song," marrying a whimsical fiddle with a full-circle story of a good girl's heart won through small rebellions and romantic gestures: whispering on the phone, sneaking kisses through screen doors. Listening to folklore then is like wiping the cuff of a cable knit on fogged glass to peer in on private moments. Even so, there are simply too many placeholders on Lover's 18-track roster for it to fare well against her discography's worthier, meatier contenders. 8 Taylor Swift (2006) Written during her freshman year of high school, Taylor Swift's debut eponymous album was young Swift trying to find her real voice. Swifts seventh ignores the bombastic electro-pop of its predecessor, and instead embraces the sleek stylings of 1989. 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