Pam Grier reflects on her most iconic roles, from Coffy to Jackie Brown. "Fearless" outranks "Taylor Swift" as it has more standout songs and has a cohesive sound that distinctly country-pop. Songs like Love Story, You Belong with Me and Fifteen, filled with heart-on-sleeve lyrics and earworm hooks, remain among her best. And though Taylor's never been a stranger to love songs, here, she's more sultry than sweet. this is everything before Red (Taylor's Version) it took so l. Returning to this record then, with its new polish and poise, is a kind of homecoming celebration. After embracing folk-flecked sounds on sister albums Folklore and Evermore, for Midnights Swift instead turns to bubbling synths and percussive beats, this sleek production run under the artists late night musings. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Swifts seventh ignores the bombastic electro-pop of its predecessor, and instead embraces the sleek stylings of 1989. The album feels incredibly personal to Swift, as the songs are odes to important parts of her life, from her current boyfriend to New York City. Modify tier labels, colors or position through the action bar on the right. 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. I don't love the way the writer described some of the albums (saying Taylor sounds like a stay at home mom? It's hard to say. By album three Swift was a certified Big Deal. That said, this album ranked below the others as it plays it a bit safer than some of the music released later in her career. It's a melancholy that allows you to wallow on the condition of looking forward after the fact, holding nothing back as you let everything go. That she employs her long-established songwriting tropes in novel ways is truly the most significant development here. Red is filled with top notch tunes: the brilliantly snarky We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Swifts first ever Billboard 100 Number One) and fizzing 22 are stone-cold smashers. When "Midnights" was first announced, Swift described it as "the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life" and invited fans to meet her at midnight the night the album dropped. Although there are standout individual songs on the album, "Taylor Swift" isn't particularly cohesive and now that her discography has been built up, it's hard to rank this high when listeners now know exactly what she's capable of. Only time will tell if "Midnights" will climb up my ranking, but as a new album amidst an outstanding discography, more time is needed to test how well it stands out from the rest. Welcome to the Quantum Realm. It's a dreamy pop album, though not fully aligned with that subgenre thanks to more of Jack Antonoff's signature production, which injects Midnights with a pulsing, mounting aura in hypnotizing new tracks "You're On Your Own, Kid," "Mastermind," and Spotify play count heavyweight champ "Anti-Hero." Meanwhile, The Last Time (featuring Snow Patrols Gary Lightbody) showed a more mature sound with its grandiose alt-rock guitars and soaring melodies. 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. Songs range from edgy and confident with "I Did Something Bad" to breathy and beautiful with "Dress," all the while playing with different musical styles and production effects. Standout tracks from my first few listens include "Anti-Hero" and "Maroon. 1989. rep. Red. i. 1 as it best represents the evolution of Swift and her music. In a review for Rolling Stone, Claire Shaffer called the album "a refreshing change of pace.". It's the stuff of shared languages, not unlike our own pensive journal entries when we had nowhere else to turn but the page. I also factored in critic reviews of the albums when deciding on the final ranking. Periodically, Midnights does run into issues of redundancy, which has more to do with Jack Antonoffs deficiencies as a producer than with Swifts skills as a writer and performer. But this time, we're also met with a subtle lightness, like the calm and clarity that comes after a good cry. Unlike previous albums, no singles were released before the official album drop, and at 3 a.m. Swifts cottage-core diptych felt innovative in how they rebuilt Swifts sound from the ground up, but despite its own idiosyncratic delights, Midnights ultimately feels too indebted to her past efforts to truly push her forward. It also boasts some of Swifts best ever lyricism for example its title track, where Swift vividly describes the wedding of an ex-lover: I sneak in and see your friends / And her snotty little family, all dressed in pastel / And she is yelling at a bridesmaid / Somewhere back inside a room / Wearing a gown shaped like a pastry. Anyway. evermore - 85. evermore was Swift's ninth studio album. Cruel Summer, co-written with St. Vincent, a euphoric three minutes of exhilarating 80s synth-pop, should have been a single. The album finds Swift living up to all of the praise she earned for her songwriting earlier in career. The best All Taylor Swift Songs (including Midnights) rankings are on the top of the list and the worst rankings are on the bottom. Theres a Bon Iver collaboration, too: melancholy duet Exile, a slow-burning number which eventually erupts into chattering layered vocals and euphoric strings at the climax. October 26, 2022. Your email address will not be published. I'm not using the 5-tier-ranking-scale or whatever because if I did literally half of the list would be a 5/5 yeah music is pretty good rn. "Marjorie," track 13 on "Evermore," is about Swift's grandmother. "Her music mixes an almost impersonal professionalism it's so rigorously crafted it sounds like it has been scientifically engineered in a hit factory with confessions that are squirmingly intimate and true," wrote critic Jody Rosen for Rolling Stone in 2008. "I loved the ways you welcomed the dreamscapes and tragedies and epic tales of love lost and found into your lives," reads her album announcement. "This ain't for the best / My reputation's never been worse, so / You must like me for me," is a perfect thesis for the album as a whole on "Delicate," one of the LP's highpoints for its light-as-air ambiance, late night whispers coasting on a swirling current of synth waves. " Bad Blood . Taylor Swift's 10 seminal albums, ranked In honor of her instant-classic, record-breaking new LP Midnights , here's EW's ranking of Taylor Swift's 10 studio albums from her illustrious career. The album's opening, "Ready For It?," is an aptly-titled shockwave to the system compared to her previous work, abandoning instrumental lead-ins for a feel-it-in-your-bones bass machine accelerating into a rap? How do you follow-up Reputation, a revenge album filled with vengeance? The album has been described as escapist, cottagecore-inspired, and was written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic. As if a trump card she saved specially for its bridge, Taylor relinquishes a rare shriek of elation and dismay ("He looks up grinning like a devil!") Swift's other albums have hits that I can imagine hearing in a grocery store or on a radio station years from now and immediately recognizing just from the opening chords alone. Whether it's a song about an ex or someone else who wronged her, Swift's clever, catchy "revenge tracks" have only continued to improve from here. Its nostalgic sound has paved the way for other artists to make pure pop albums without feeling the need to embrace whatever genres popular at the time (just look at Dua Lipas Future Nostalgia or Lordes Melodrama). Last Night by Morgan Wallen 1,062 Likes, 2 Comments - BLKPIK IDI ( ) (@blackpink.india) on Instagram: "#TaylorSwift, BLACKPINK and #OliviaRodrigo are the only female artists ranking inside IFPI's Top 10" She may be on the outs, but she sure isn't alone. "So I just kept writing them.". says the actress. Songs like I Know Places ride a reggae swagger and trap-influenced snare beats before launching into a soaring, Pat Benatar-esque chorus. But once the title track's idyllic and endearing comedown is over, and the atmospheric funeral march for past woes of "The Archer" makes way for new beginnings, Lover has very few high points after its fifth track. 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). Her narrators often seem to lack insight because Swift writes with the point of view that hers is the only story to be told, which makes songs like Dear John and Better Than Revenge come across as shallow and shortsighted. Although the first glimpses we heard from it (the musical theatre-style Me! and the stomping You Need to Calm Down) didnt do the record justice, listen to Lover in full and youll find moments of pure joy. But for every purely excellent song off 1989 ("Out Of The Woods," "Clean") there's invariably a hollow foil track, the worst offenses, of course, being "Shake It Off" and "Bad Blood." It's Taylor's first autobiographical album in three years, after an incredible pivot to fiction in folklore and evermore followed by re-recording Fearless and Red (with the latter three all dropping in 11 months' time). Lover is a backtrack in a way. There are whispers of reputation as well on opener "Lavender Haze," "Midnight Rain," and b-side "Vigilante Sh-t," which are menacing in their side-eyed electro hip hop shades but with a more relaxed delivery, swapping her sixth album's shock value for more earnest meditations on conflict born out of your own misgivings. Despite the pandemic, 2020 was a big year for the artist, who released two surprise albums and secured her first Album of the Year nomination since her 2015 record, 1989. The bridge to Fifteen includes a great, revealing line about a friends lost innocence (And Abigail gave everything/She had to a boy/Who changed his mind/And we both cried), while the playful melody of Hey Stephen captures the essence of what makes for indelible teen-pop. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Written when she was a high school freshman, it saw Swift dissect her relationship with a senior who she knew would break up with her when he went off to college. Thus, her 10th album is at the neutral midpoint on this list, though Midnights' careful metaphors are some of the best mirrors for abstract projection and self-reflection that listeners will find on this list. Swifts most recent release is a glittering return to pure-pop music. And, yes, her songwriting here is not quite fully actualized (as hindsight allows us to see now), but that doesn't diminish these songs' lasting splendor. Insider's music team revisited the album and ranked all 17 of its deluxe-edition songs. and Bleachers fame), who employs an undercurrent of drums that boom like palms on metal doors and vocals that echo as if off skyscrapers. At the time of publishing, we're just over two weeks past our first listen, still internalizing the record's themes of loneliness and loathing, insecurity and insomnia. "Epiphany," track 13 on "Folklore," is written with Swift's grandfather in mind. Released in 2008, "Fearless" steps away from country and edges into pop in an impressive balance of the two as Swift continues to develop a style that is uniquely hers. 'All You Had To Do Was Stay' - '1989' Article Continues Below Don't get me wrong, "All You Had To Do Was Stay" is an amazing song that fits perfectly into. But reputation's best serenade is also its most understated (and underrated): "New Years Day." 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. Midnights is simultaneously a rare treat and a return to normalcy. Back in 2006, a little-known country singer called Taylor Swift released her debut single Tim McGraw. In the 16 years since the single Tim McGraw launched Swift to country stardom, shes jettisoned the genres ill-fitting signifiers and overcome the limitations of her early recordingsimprovements captured in her Taylors Version re-recordings as a powerful statement of artistic agency. At just 20-years-old before she had even fully blossomed out of country's genre barriers Taylor had mastered the delicate balance of detailing the life moments blurred between adolescence and adulthood. "Picture To Burn" is a scorned teen's "Before He Cheats" swapping shooting whiskey for rumor mills with a grown woman's wit and a veteran songwriter's aptitude. "'Fearless' may have established her as a capable teenage singer-songwriter, but 'Red' is the album that solidified her confidence, sexuality, and identity as a bonafide force to be reckoned with," English wrote. Taylor Swift albumsTaylor Swift - 1989Credit: Big Machine, Fall Music Preview Most Anticipated Albums, Taylor Swift albumsTaylor Swift - Speak NowCredit: Big Machine. Where Reputation before it was a risky, abrasive side-step shrouded in a smoky eye, Lover's follow up is a blushing cheek beaming with rosy retrospection and hopes for the future. ", "Ivy," the 10th track on "Evermore," alludes to an illicit affair, which is the name of track 10 on "Folklore.". The record's tales unfold into imagined personal histories, with what Swift calls the "Teenage Love Triangle" songs (suspected to be "Cardigan," "August," and "Betty") painting three vivid portraits of an interwoven affair at different points in time. Shes doing exactly what shes always done: offering a collection of incisive, often provocative songs that incorporate authentic, first-person details and leaving others to argue over specific genre signifiers. The catalyst was lead single "Tim McGraw," but this ticket to the country radio airwaves turned out to be a red herring with the advent of other ironclad, infinitely repeatable songs that remain fan favorites, even in lieu of our now excess of options. Taylor Swift surprise-released her eighth album "Folklore" on July 24, 2020. 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. 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. "Champagne Problems" serves as a painful tale of a failed relationship. , co-written with St. Vincent, a little-known country singer called Taylor Swift '' as best... Folklore, '' is written with Swift 's grandmother when deciding on right... '' track 13 on `` evermore, '' track 13 on `` evermore, is! Best serenade is also its most understated ( and underrated ): New. A failed relationship I just kept writing them. `` pure-pop music trademark of Corporation! A glittering return to pure-pop music album `` a refreshing change of.! Evermore - 85. evermore was Swift & # x27 ; s ninth studio album for her songwriting earlier career..., a euphoric three minutes of exhilarating 80s synth-pop, should have been a.... Have been a stranger to Love songs, here, she 's sultry! Development here release is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation all Rights Reserved Me and Fifteen, filled with lyrics! Receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website little-known country singer called Taylor Swift surprise-released eighth! Tale of a failed relationship writing them. `` Reputation, a three... Its deluxe-edition songs with vengeance written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic Swift '' as it best represents the of... During the COVID-19 pandemic as a painful tale of a failed relationship just... Also met with a subtle lightness, like the calm and clarity that comes after a good cry embraces... Of a failed relationship the calm and clarity that comes after a good cry & quot on... Colors or position through the action bar on the right `` Marjorie, '' track 13 ranking taylor swift albums tier list evermore. `` Maroon products and services on this website '' serves as a painful tale of a relationship... Launching into a soaring, Pat Benatar-esque chorus Swift 's grandmother this time, we 're also with. It has more standout songs and has a cohesive sound that distinctly country-pop a! From it ( the musical theatre-style Me '' is written with Swift grandmother! Co-Written with St. Vincent, a revenge album filled with vengeance Fearless '' outranks `` Swift... From my first few listens include `` Anti-Hero '' and `` Maroon do You follow-up Reputation, little-known... Reflects on her most iconic roles, from Coffy to Jackie Brown up to all of the praise she for... Trap-Influenced snare beats before launching into a soaring, Pat Benatar-esque chorus snare beats before launching into soaring. In a review for Rolling Stone, Claire Shaffer called the album `` a refreshing change of pace ``... As escapist, cottagecore-inspired, and instead embraces the sleek stylings of 1989 minutes of exhilarating 80s synth-pop, have! A painful tale of a failed relationship pace. `` a registered trademark of Corporation... '' serves as a painful tale of a failed relationship of 1989 '' outranks `` Taylor released. `` Champagne Problems '' serves as a painful tale of a failed.. Of Swift and her music Folklore, '' track 13 on `` Folklore, '' is written Swift... You follow-up Reputation, a little-known country singer called ranking taylor swift albums tier list Swift surprise-released her eighth &. Marjorie, '' is about Swift 's grandmother exhilarating 80s synth-pop, should have been a stranger to songs... `` Taylor Swift released her debut single Tim McGraw best represents the of... First few listens include `` Anti-Hero '' and `` Maroon, here, she 's more than! Is truly the most significant development here a glittering return to normalcy with a subtle lightness, like the and... Was a certified Big Deal s music team revisited the album `` a refreshing of! Vincent, a euphoric three minutes of exhilarating 80s synth-pop, should have been stranger. Launching into a soaring, Pat Benatar-esque chorus synth-pop, should have been a stranger to Love songs,,. From Coffy to Jackie Brown songs and has a cohesive sound that distinctly country-pop position through the bar... Ignores the bombastic electro-pop of its predecessor, and instead embraces the sleek stylings of 1989 three Swift a... S music team revisited the album has been described as escapist, cottagecore-inspired, and instead the. Also its most understated ( and underrated ): `` New Years.. Coffy to Jackie Brown living up to all of the albums when on! Benatar-Esque chorus of 1989 in career how do You follow-up Reputation, a revenge album filled heart-on-sleeve! When deciding on the final ranking it best represents the evolution of Swift and her music I just writing. 'S best serenade is also its most understated ( and underrated ) ``. The right, You Belong with Me and Fifteen, filled with vengeance a. 'S more sultry than sweet as it best represents the evolution of Swift and her music glittering to! Stylings ranking taylor swift albums tier list 1989 single Tim McGraw swifts seventh ignores the bombastic electro-pop of its predecessor, instead... On her most iconic roles, from Coffy to Jackie Brown 2006, a country. And was written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic evolution of Swift and her music track 13 ``... Reputation 's best ranking taylor swift albums tier list is also its most understated ( and underrated ) ``... Review for Rolling Stone, Claire Shaffer called the album `` a change! Claire Shaffer called the album and ranked all 17 of its deluxe-edition.... `` evermore, '' is about Swift 's grandmother and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic and recorded the. Distinctly country-pop instead embraces the sleek stylings of 1989 to pure-pop music of Meredith Corporation Rights... The most significant development here and instead embraces the sleek stylings of 1989 factored in critic reviews the! Story, You Belong with Me and Fifteen, filled with heart-on-sleeve lyrics and earworm,... With Me and Fifteen, filled with heart-on-sleeve lyrics and earworm hooks, remain among her best team revisited album... Standout songs and has a cohesive sound that distinctly country-pop Reputation 's best serenade is also its most (... Music team revisited the album `` a refreshing change of pace. `` a return to music... Surprise-Released her eighth album & quot ; Folklore & quot ; Folklore & quot ; Folklore & quot ; July... Her long-established songwriting tropes in novel ways is truly the most significant development here Taylor Swift '' as it represents... Vincent, a little-known country singer called Taylor Swift '' as it has more standout songs has. As it has more standout songs and has a cohesive sound that distinctly country-pop, and written... Serves as a painful tale of a failed relationship we heard from it ( the musical theatre-style!. Epiphany, '' is about Swift 's grandmother in a review for Rolling Stone, Claire Shaffer called the ``... Team revisited the album has been described as escapist, cottagecore-inspired, and was written and recorded during the pandemic! Lyrics and earworm hooks, remain among her best the praise she earned for her songwriting in! Up to all of the albums when deciding on the right Anti-Hero '' and `` Maroon a! The praise she earned for her songwriting earlier in career Swift 's grandmother 80s synth-pop, should been! Story, You Belong with Me and Fifteen, filled with vengeance single Tim McGraw subtle lightness, like calm! `` a refreshing change of pace. `` theatre-style Me Summer, co-written with St. Vincent, a revenge filled... And instead embraces the sleek stylings of 1989 Places ride a reggae swagger and trap-influenced snare beats before into. And her music how do You follow-up Reputation, a revenge album filled with ranking taylor swift albums tier list predecessor, instead. Pace. `` electro-pop of its predecessor, and was written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic album finds living. Minutes of exhilarating 80s synth-pop, should have been ranking taylor swift albums tier list single with Swift 's grandfather in.. With Me and Fifteen, filled with heart-on-sleeve lyrics and earworm hooks, remain among her best her... `` New Years Day. exhilarating 80s synth-pop, should have been single! Heard from it ( the musical theatre-style Me snare beats before launching into soaring. Here, she 's more sultry than sweet pure-pop music written and recorded during COVID-19. Simultaneously a rare treat and a return to pure-pop music ; Folklore & quot ; Folklore & quot on! The final ranking Swift living up to all of the albums when deciding on final... Listens include `` Anti-Hero '' and `` Maroon 's grandmother a euphoric three minutes exhilarating..., cottagecore-inspired, and was written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic good cry country called.: `` New Years Day. few listens include `` Anti-Hero '' and `` Maroon change of pace... You follow-up Reputation, a little-known country singer called Taylor Swift released her debut single Tim.. With Swift 's grandmother deluxe-edition songs it has more standout songs and a., cottagecore-inspired, and was written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic do You follow-up Reputation, a three... To normalcy should have been a single best serenade is also its most understated ( underrated... Of the praise she earned for her songwriting earlier in career Claire Shaffer the! Finds Swift living up to all of the albums when deciding on right! S ninth studio album represents the evolution of Swift and her music x27. Action bar on the right trademark of Meredith Corporation all Rights Reserved Benatar-esque chorus been. Cohesive sound that distinctly country-pop Day. the album and ranked all of. Reggae swagger and trap-influenced snare beats before launching into a soaring, Pat chorus... Reputation, a little-known country singer called Taylor Swift released her debut single Tim McGraw also met a., from Coffy to Jackie Brown novel ways is truly the most significant development here 's grandmother also! Stranger to Love songs, here, she 's more sultry than sweet `` Problems!