122–100 99–75 74–50 49–25 24–1
99. “The Outside”
Stellar country production here, but the lyrics are all over the place –– they switch between condemning a reserved partner and lamenting her own lifelong loneliness, but the two topics don’t connect with one another.
98. “The Man”
Impressive makeup transformations aside, this explosive burst of feminist angst feels a little too simplistic to have the impact it desires.
97. “The Lucky One”
The back half of Red would fare a lot better if the first half wasn’t so strong. This song is solid, but its one-line chorus and repetitive beat make it feel like subpar filler.
96. “The Other Side of the Door”
If Weezer and Alison Krauss collaborated on a country pop anthem, it might sound like this.
95. “You’re Not Sorry”
One of the weaker Fearless tracks is still a pretty strong song.
94. “Dancing with Our Hands Tied”
This song starts out sounding like a modern take on ‘80s new wave, then devolves into uncharacteristically generic EDM when the chorus hits. One of the rare songs where the verses outshine the chorus.
93. “Innocent”
Pales in comparison to Kanye’s “Runaway” in the very niche category of “songs written in response to the VMAs incident.”
92. “You Need to Calm Down”
On this song, which combines elements from M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” and Post Malone’s “Sunflower,” Taylor attempts to be a woke ally to the LGBTQ+ community, but makes the age-old mistake of centering herself in her approach. If she wanted to support a noble cause, then why’d she compare homophobia to cyberbullying and misogyny? Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to get politically involved, but maybe cramming three relatively-unrelated social issues into one pop song isn’t the best approach.
91. “Welcome to New York”
A fitting introductory track for the synth-pop era, with sweeping keyboards and pulsing beats. Starting a new album with a song with “welcome” in the title is a nice touch, as is the line “It’s a new soundtrack/I could dance to this beat forevermore.”
90. “Come Back..Be Here”
Some may call it simplistic, others may call it overproduced. I call it…pretty good. Definitely one of the stronger bonus tracks on any Taylor album.
89. “Starlight”
With a four-on-the-floor beat and light pop-rock production, this is Red’s preview of what’s to come on 1989.
88. “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever”
This Zayn collaboration from Fifty Shades Darker is somehow very catchy and incredibly forgettable at the same time. I do not know how this is possible.
87. “Beautiful Ghosts”
Aside from the wonky faux-British accent, this is actually a pretty strong musical-theatre song, especially coming from someone who’s never written a song for a musical before. Maybe it’s all Andrew Lloyd Weber, but if this song is any indication, Taylor is more than capable of crafting her own musical.
86. “Haunted”
The title makes it sound like a spooky Halloween bop, but this song is basically a minor-key inversion of Coldplay’s “The Scientist.”
85. “Stay Stay Stay”
This rare burst of optimism on Red sounds like a Spotify ad, but its commitment to corniness makes it memorable and ridiculously catchy.
84. “All You Had to Do Was Stay”
Swift and her fans theorize that, on every album, the fifth track is a standout song filled with more honesty and raw emotions than the surrounding songs. This theory holds weight on most albums, on 1989, not so much, as this is one of the weaker tracks, and its emotional details pale in comparison to “Out of the Woods” and “Clean.”
83. “Tell Me Why”
One of the best-produced songs on Fearless. The lead guitar/banjo riff is one for the ages.
82. “22”
The song that launched a billion birthday Instagram captions is actually pretty solid, but it almost feels like self-parody at moments.
81. “Gorgeous”
This goofily flirty track is basically Reputation’s “22.” The voice at the beginning is James Reynolds, daughter of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
80. “It’s Nice to Have a Friend”
A unique little tropical interlude, but why is it the second to last song on Lover? This ought to be somewhere in the middle of the album to break up the synthpop.
79. “Begin Again”
Country Taylor’s last hurrah is one of Red’s most traditional songs in her home-base genre.
78. “Sparks Fly”
An energetic anthem from Speak Now that would blend in on Fearless.
77. “Soon You’ll Get Better”
This somber reflection on her mother’s illness features the artists formerly known as the Dixie Chicks. It’s a moving song, but doesn’t quite fit on Lover thematically.
76. “Never Grow Up”
A distinctly maternal ode to childhood that’s impressively insightful for a teenage writer.
75. “Back to December”
The orchestral arrangements here would fit nicely on Elton John’s Madman Across the Water.
