An all time ranking of Taylor Swift’s albums

By Violet Bouwes-van Nood ‘24

Taylor Swift is one of the biggest stars on the planet, she’s set over 30 world records, won eleven Grammy Awards, and had eight number one hits. Over her 16 year long career she’s released eleven albums, here's an all-time ranking of all of Taylor Swift's albums. The rankings for the albums were created based on five factors:

1. Songwriting skills and maturity of the writing.

2. The cultural relevance of the album and how iconic the album was to Swift.

3. The storytelling showed the album and how cohesive it was overall.

4. The popularity of the album, based on sales.

5. Any other external factors, like what the fans interviewed said or awards the album had won.

Keeping these attributes in mind, the albums were ranked in a way that was not based on my personal opinion or which ones I thought were best, but rather based on the actual qualities of the album. It was based on how technically good the albums were. This does not mean that this was created free of bias, because when discussing the ranking of albums there will always be inherent bias. 

1. Folklore

“Folklore” is Swift's best album. Released suddenly in July of 2020 amid COVID-19, it provided entertainment and a release many people were looking for in a time when isolation was prominent in many people's lives.. 

"Folklore was the album I was most invested in when it was released," said Taylor Swift fan and Catlin Gabel School (CGS) sophomore Amare Kaainoa.

“Folklore” won album of the year at the 2021 Grammy Awards and was nominated in four other categories. This shows the importance of the album to fans and the significant impact on the general public.

“Folklore,” as typical for Swift, was a change in genre. Her previous three albums had all been very pop and “Folklore” transitioned into indie/folk music. 

As well as a change in style, there's also a change in maturity and skill used in songwriting.  

"Folklore is some of the best songwriting ever," Swiftie (Taylor Swift fan) and Saint Mary’s Academy sophomore Willa Farbach said when asked about the album.

Swift's writing in this album stands out with lyrics like;

"They told me all my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all my potential" (“This is me Trying”) and "I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want, just not home." (“My Tears Ricochet'') These lyrics show her maturity and growth as an artist. 

Kaainoa explained how “Folklore” stands apart from the rest of Swift's albums.

"Folklore was about taking a step back from reality and everything that was happening to her, and just like completely investing in these fairytales and her imagination and creating stories rather than reliving them." 

The storytelling in “Folklore” is prolific. For example, the songs “August”, “Betty”, and “Cardigan” all are about the same love triangle from three different points of view. Details like this create a strong cohesion in the album and show how talented Swift is.

2.  Reputation 

A high factor used when ranking these albums was cultural relevance; how iconic it was as an album and an era. “Reputation” is Swift's most iconic album.

“Reputation” came out when Swift's reputation was at an all-time low. She was in a public feud with rapper Kanye West, and many celebrities were choosing sides, including Kim Kardashian who famously called Swift a 'snake.' 

Before the release of “Reputation”, Swift deleted all of her Instagram posts and removed her profile picture. Then, she posted videos of snakes before the album's release. Snakes became a motif in this album and this era (most likely a nod to Kardashian's comment).

"I think [Reputation] is the perfect comeback album," commented Abby Fisher (CGS '24), an avid Taylor Swift fan. "It really tells a story."

And that it does. It has very clear cohesion and common themes throughout the album. Although Swift goes from songs dissing other people like “This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things” to love songs like “New Year's Day”, they still have a connection.  

"You can't compare it to her other albums," said Farbach. "It's really good for walking down the street,or playing really loud. She has a lot of really clear storylines that I like in it."

That is part of the fun of “Reputation”: it's easy to feel the story, scream the lyrics to “Look What You Made Me Do”, and feel anger and satisfaction of revenge. 

In this album, Swift rebranded herself. One of her most iconic lyrics is, "I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now. Why? ‘Cause she's dead!" (“Look What You Made Me Do”) It is almost as if she's mocking the media, saying, if this is what you paint me out to be, then that's what you get. 

Not only was the “Reputation” album iconic, but so was the era. 

"I just feel like her in that era was so cool. Like she was the cool kid, you know." Kaainoa remarked, going on to explain how they had watched the Reputation stadium tour on Netflix at least a 'billion times,' so now she even has some of the dances memorized. 

Reputation stands alone in terms of societal impact. Kaainoa sums it up perfectly: "It's so bad*ss and so cool."

3. Speak Now

“Speak Now” is a fan-favorite album. It may seem less of an iconic album to the general public, but for a Swiftie, it’s viewed as one of her better albums. Taylor Swift fan Teresa Walsh (CGS '25), explains why when talking about Swift’s first three albums.

"In those [albums], she got really good at writing songs. She wrote all of Speak Now."

This fact is true; Swift wrote her third album entirely by herself. She made the album over two years and released it when she was only 20 years old. It's the first time we get to know Swift through her music.

"It felt like a step [forward] with Speak Now, it felt she was writing less about what she thought relationships were like, and more of her actual experiences," said Kaainoa. 

The way Swift wrote the songs creates more connection with the listeners, which shows her growth as a writer from her previous albums (“Taylor Swift” and “Fearless”). Because it’s more honest than her previous albums, and fans can feel as though they get to know Swift.

"I really like the way she used her emotions for that album," commented Farbach.

The album is full of a lot of angry songs, like “Better than Revenge” or “Mean”. It's full of lots of great sappy love songs like “Mine” or “Enchanted”. Either way, they are great songs to scream the lyrics to at the top of your lungs.

Because Swift wrote all the songs, there is a lot of continuity in the album; they all feel very real and honest.

"I think it's a no skip album," said Fisher. "Except ‘Dear John’, depending on what mood I'm in, it's a sad song."

4. Red (Taylor's Version)

“Red (Taylor's Version)” was released most recently on November 12, 2021, and with it smashing success. 

‘Taylor's Version’ means that Swift owns the music. Due to a contract with her previous recorded label, Big Machine Records, Swift did not have any of her music rights. Well known talent manager, Scooter Bruan, bought Red Machine Records in 2019 and then sold Swift's masters. Swift had no control over any of this, and since she was not able to own her music, she did the next best thing, recording all of the albums that she does not own the masters too, which are her first six albums.

“Red (Taylor's Version)” is phenomenal in many ways. Even though it was a re-recording of an album already released, it got 122.9 million streams in one day, breaking her record for a most-streamed album by a female artist on Spotify. Many of the songs were on charts, including a 10-minute long number one hit song.

With all of Swift's re-recordings, she is also releasing ‘from the vault’ songs, which were written for the album but never made it on. One of these is a ten-minute version of a fan-favorite song, “All Too Well”. The lyrics in this song are some of the best she's ever written, including: "I'm a soldier who's returning half her weight. And did the twin flame bruise paint you blue? Just between us, did the love affair maim you too?" or "Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it… You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath." 

"I absolutely love it. I never felt a strong connection to the Red album until I heard it," said Kaainoa. 

In the re-recording, Swift also plays around with the music, changing things she wanted to change the first time around. Her voice has changed in the last ten years as well. “Red (Taylor's Version)” has the same charm as the original “Red”, but it is more mature and more honest.

5. 1989

Finishing off the top five places is “1989”. It's Swift's most well-known album, and when many people who aren't fans of Taylor Swift think of her, this is what comes to mind. It is full of many hit singles like “Shake it Off”, “Bad Blood”, “Wildest Dreams”, and “Blank Space”.  

"She transitioned to pop in it [1989], and I think she did a really good job. They're definitely really poppy songs, but they're catchy, and they're fun," said Walsh, explaining what she thought about the album and who “1989” is where Swift officially leaves her days as a country artist behind. 

"1989, in my opinion, was not necessarily the peak of her stardom success but the peak in her overall popularity," said Kaainoa, going on to talk about how “1989” is what made Swift stand out. The album won a Grammy award for Album of the Year and brought attention to Taylor Swift's name as a pop star. 

Even though this album is fun and iconic, it doesn't demonstrate her best skill as a songwriter. Of course, there are iconic lyrics like "Baby I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream." (“Blank Space”).  

But the thing about pop music is that it is hard to stand out on its own, and a lot of the songs, like songs from “1989”, get overplayed. Out of the eight number one hits Swift has had, three of them were from “1989”, which is three times the amount of any other album. When “1989” was released it sold almost 1.3 million copies in the first week, it was the fastest selling record since 2002.

Because the songs are overplayed, fans are less inclined to listen to them or find a connection with the music because it's music everyone is listening to.

“1989” is one of Swift's most iconic and well-known albums and shows how she can switch up her genre, but other albums demonstrate her skills as a musician better.

6. Lover

“Lover”, in usual Taylor Swift style, was a great transition album. It was released after “Reputation” and was the first album she owned the masters to. It felt like Swift showing that she can do both, have a hardcore revenge album and a sweet love album.

"Many of [her previous songs] have been about breakups, which isn't a bad thing; I, of course, love her music," noted Kaainoa. "But Lover was the first one where it felt like she was kinda finding herself and her place in relationships in general." 

As an album, this is what makes “Lover” stand out in its calmness.

"She's more at peace with herself and at peace with her own ways," added Fisher.

Though this is a great album and shows a lovely romantic side of Swift, it doesn't stand out as much as other albums. It doesn't have the iconic feeling of “Reputation” or “1989” or the writing skills used in “Folklore”. 

Maybe that's the point of it; it's a moment of peace for Swift. It doesn't have to pack a punch. It doesn't have to highlight her skills or be a number one seller. It can quietly fall into the sideline, and she can have a moment with her and her lover.

7. Evermore

“Evermore” demonstrates amazing songwriting abilities. Some stories are easy to get lost in, have thought-provoking lyrics, and show a lot of maturity as an artist. 

"I feel like Folklore and Evermore, and I guess Lover too really, the lyrics are the best parts," Walsh commented when asked about Evermore. And there lies the catch with Evermore.

Though it is a truly skillful album, it can feel like “Folklore” 2.0 at times. Swift is known to constantly switch her music genre, “Evermore” is the first time it truly feels the same. So even though it's a great album, similar to “Lover”, it doesn't stand out on its own. It's always the sister album to Folklore, and a big part in ranking these albums was cultural relevance. 

Of course, it's not the same as “Folklore”.

"It's similar to Folklore but feels more mature," stated Farbach. In that way, it's like Folklore's older sister who doesn't get as much of the spotlight. 

8. Red

“Red” has a lot of well-known songs on it, but as an album, it seems less well known. Of course, it has “I Knew You Were Trouble,” and “We are Never Ever Getting Back Together” on it, which are some of her most popular singles. Overall,  “Red” as an era doesn't seem to stand out as much; it blurs with “1989”, which can lead the album to be less memorable for some people. 

"She really went in the pop direction even though there were still country influences," said Kaainoa. This makes “Red” an important album, but there is less cohesion between songs because of this transition. 

The stories in the album may connect well, but because some songs are completely different genres, it does not blend well.

In “Red (Taylor's Version)”, Swift manages to create cohesion between the songs. She takes everything that we love about Red and amplifies it. For this reason, “Red”, the original version, is so low in ranking. “Red (Taylor's Version)” already has everything amazing about “Red”, like the song “All Too Well”, and then has more, like the 10-minute version. 

9. Fearless

“Fearless” as an album has nothing that makes it stand out. Swift is still young (18 years old), and her skills aren't fully developed. It's not a change in genre or a statement album. 

"I like some of the songs, but not all of them," stated Walsh. “Fearless” has some songs that definitely stand, but it also has songs that blend in as well.

Swift also got most of her fans as a pop artist, so her earlier music is less listened to and appreciated by her fans. 

At the time this album was released, it had a more cultural impact than it does now. Swift won her first album of the year Grammy with it, which is the only reason why it is ranked higher than “Fearless (Taylor's Version)”. 

Today “Fearless” seems to have less impact on society; some of the songs are well-loved but don't give a real connection to Swift as they are less vulnerable than her other music. This is, of course, expected because she was only 18 years old when “Fearless” was released.

10. Fearless (Taylor's Version)

"Fearless is probably my least favorite album of hers, and just like the re-recording a little bit less, it's bad it's not nostalgic," confessed Kaainoa. 

Unlike “Red (Taylor's Version)”, there is very little difference between the two. “Fearless (Taylor's Version)” doesn't show her growth. It mainly just stays the same, except for the addition of ‘from the vault’ tracks and its loss of nostalgia that the original version has.

"You could tell so much more during Red how much it's [Swift's voice] has improved." Kaainoa continued. It was her first re-recording, and it feels like Swift wanted to play it safe, being unsure how fans would react or what they would want. And though the re-recording is exactly what it's supposed to be (a re-recording of “Fearless”), it doesn't give more, say for one popular from the vault song “Mr. Perfectly Fine”. 

Just because it's ranked lower than “Fearless” the original version, does mean you shouldn’t listen to Taylor’s version instead, though. It's important to listen to Swift's music and not provide profit to people like Bruan, who stole Swift’s music.

“Fearless” and “Fearless (Taylor's Version)” are essentially the same, except one has grammy and one doesn't, which is how these rankings were decided. 

11. Taylor Swift

Swift's lowest-ranked album is her debut self-titled album, “Taylor Swift”. 

"Some songs are really good, and I really like [them], like Our Song and Tim McGraw, and some songs I just don't really," said Fisher.

Of course, there are amazing songs on the album, like there are on all of Swift's albums, but “Taylor Swift” just seems like the least mature and skilled. The songs seem more cliché and less written from her own experiences. This is probably because this was her first album, and she was only 16 when it was released. 

Her first album being her worst really shows how good of an artist Swift is: she only went up. She learned a lot and grew in her music. Over the past 15 years, she has been able to find herself as a musician. She's gone from country to pop to indie folk music. Part of the beauty of debut is being able to see how much she grew.