Entertainment Weekly looks back on the tour de force singer’s many milestones, re-recordings, and eras.
Universal Music Group (3)
Let’s be clear: There are no badTaylor Swiftalbums.
Now, without further ado, here’s EW’s ranking of every Taylor Swift album.
Credit:Universal Music Group (3)
But as we all know, Taylor Swift isn’t like other artists.
But clearly, Taylor is capable of much more, and her nine subsequent albums are proof.
10.Lover(2019)
Loveris a backtrack in a way.
Big Machine
escaped the fate ofPharrell inMinionsorTimberlake inTrolls).
Overall, it’s charming and mostly tame, but then again, she’s happy.
She’s moved on, but she alsowantsus to know she’s moved on.
TS/Republic
to ultimate effect (andinfluence to mega-fanOlivia Rodrigo’sraucous debut).
But when the (surprise!
But many tracks are more akin to mundane diary entries than truly poetic meditations.
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Tortured Poetsis an echo chamber in every sense.
But we shouldnt undersell the singer because she needed an honest editor.
Instead, she forces us to slow down and weigh its inconsistent scope.
Big Machine Records
That said, it’s grown on this writer with each subsequent listen.
Until then,TTPDis relegated near the bottom of this list because she ultimately favored quantity over quality.
8.Reputation(2017)
Reputationis, without a doubt, Taylor’s most polarizing work to date.
But just because Taylor took a sharp left turn doesn’t mean she was unsuccessful.
ButReputation’s best serenade is also its most understated (and underrated): “New Years Day.”
All in all,Reputationis by far Taylor’s most misunderstood work though its criticisms aren’t without merit.
Taylor Swift
It’s her only album with skip-every-time songs (why on earth would youforce a collabbetweenFutureandEd Sheeran?
), and is occasionally clumsy in its comebacks.
She may be on the outs, but she sure isn’t alone.
Republic Records
Like the OG, TS’s1989is sonically joyous without losing dimension or leaning on familiarity.
Then there’s the true-to-life nostalgic musings ofromantic naivety at fifteenandunrequited love looming on the high school bleachers.
5.Midnights(2022)
Midnightsis simultaneously a rare treat and a return to normalcy.
Beth Garrabrant
And onMidnights, Taylor turns to us, yet again.
Its fantasias are more melancholic, its themes of longing more resentful.
Herein lies the merit ofSpeak Now (Taylor’s Version).
Beth Garrabrant
She’s since genre-jumped from country to proper pop, to electro R&B and bare-backed folk.
“So I just kept writing them.”
The finished product is, of course, sterling.
The album cover for ‘Red (Taylor’s Version),’ by Taylor Swift.Republic
On her first three albums, love is mostly a daydream.
Returning to this record then, with its new polish and poise, is a kind of homecoming celebration.
The music offolkloretakes its time to unfurl, ivory keys yawning at dusk, acoustic strings waking at daybreak.
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Justin Vernon ofBon Iver’s defeated drawl) borrows similarly spacious minor keys with ten times the heartbreak.
Still, what some may see asfolklore’s central weakness is in actuality its greatest strength.
Yet between its plot-point breadcrumbs is an inherent relatability embedded in Taylor’s never-better introspection.
