122–100 99–75 74–50 49–25 24–1
In honor of folklore’s surprise release, I ranked every song from the studio discography of Taylor Swift, one of our greatest living songwriters –– even her weakest songs are better than most people’s best. There’s no live stuff, no Christmas songs, no covers, and no instances of Taylor as a featured artist. And I can’t include folklore yet because it needs time to unravel in my brain. Without further ado, here’s pretty much every Taylor Swift song, ranked.
122. “Girl at Home”
A noble moral stance in favor of monogamy…that Swift only takes because she knows what it’s like to be the “girl at home.” Nice try.
121. “Bad Blood”
The remix slightly improves on the original because it replaces the generic verses with Kendrick Lamar referencing his own “Backseat Freestyle,” which is pretty funny. It’s still the worst song from 1989.
120. “I Almost Do”
All Taylor Swift albums share a common Achilles heel: length. Each album feels a few tracks too long, and this one of the songs on Red that could have been left on the cutting room floor –– it’s like a tired retread of Speak Now’s midtempo songs without the poeticism or passion.
119. “ME!”
Working with Joel Little (Lorde’s Pure Heroine) and Brendon Urie from Panic! At the Disco should have resulted in a home run lead single for Lover. Instead, we got this juvenile oddity that feels like a rejection from the Trolls soundtrack. Fans and critics ridiculed the infamous “spelling is fun” line so much that the album version removed it.
118. “A Perfectly Good Heart”
There’s a little too much pop tidiness on this track to comfortably achieve the country aspirations of her first album.
118. “Stay Beautiful”
A cutesy folk song about a completely uninteresting guy named Cory. It sounds like the best song at a middle school talent show.
117. “So It Goes…”
This was the only Reputation song that wasn’t played on the album’s accompanying tour. It’s also the only song on the album that feels like a filler track.
116. “A Place in this World”
Swift’s melodic instincts were strong from the very beginning, but the lyrics here (and elsewhere on her debut) showed a lot of room for improvement. They’re far from bad, but they have more in common with high school journal entries than with her later work.
115. “Tied Together with a Smile”
Unique to her discography because Taylor almost completely distances herself from the narrative –– nearly the entire song is written in the second-person.
114. “SuperStar”
Is this song about one of Swift’s actual pop star boyfriends, or just a metaphor about a nice, regular guy? My money’s on the former. This song may be the peak of immature lyrics on Fearless.
113. “End Game”
This is the closest thing Reputation has to a title track, and it’s a swing and a miss. The prechorus hints at a stronger song lurking within, but Future’s misplaced verse and Ed Sheeran’s wasted feature really suck the life out of this one.
112. “The Moment I Knew”
Sounds a lot like one of those pop star covers of a Disney song that plays over the credits, making you wish you were listening to the original version instead.
111. “Only the Young”
This song’s release coincided with the Miss Americana documentary, and presumably didn’t make the cut for Lover. It’s a fine attempt at an inspirational protest track, but it doesn’t even reach the heights of Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song,” which isn’t even a particularly good song.
110. “Sad Beautiful Tragic”
This song brings Red’s first-half energy to a screeching halt. It’s a fine, gentle song in isolation, but has a negative impact on the album.
109. “Invisible”
One of the clearest examples of Taylor’s all-but-abandoned Southern accent.
108. “Jump Then Fall”
A solid mid tempo bonus track from Fearless isn’t that distinct from her other early songs.
107. “Cold as You”
I can’t imagine this song fazing the person it’s about –– it’s not specific or impassioned enough to fully connect.
106. “I’m Only Me When I’m With You”
For some reason, one of the most energetic songs from the self-titled era is a bonus track.
105. “Come In With the Rain”
A solid song that’s lost in the sea of early-career bonus tracks that all sound very similar. Fearless-era Taylor had a big thing for windows.
104. “If This Was a Movie”
There’s a reason this was relegated to bonus-track status –– it’s perfectly fine, but feels like a lesser version of other Speak Now tracks.
103. “Superman”
This one’s really similar to “Mine,” so it makes sense that this wasn’t included on the standard edition of the album.
102. “This Love”
A glimmer of country Taylor briefly reemerges, if only for a moment, on 1989’s slowest track. This song sees the most substantial clash between her traditional songwriting and the shiny electronic production.
101. “Untouchable”
This may be an early draft of “The Lucky One.” It’s far longer than necessary.
100. “Tim McGraw”
A surprisingly low-key choice for her debut single. It’s decent, but imagine if the world’s introduction to Taylor Swift was “Picture to Burn.”
