" Bad Blood . Related: Ranking Taylor Swift's 10 Most Viewed Music Videos. She colors its lyrics and soundscapes between the clear cut, ear candy lines a hint of bubblegum pop, a dash of animated movie-anthem flair (it's a miracle that "ME!" Not content with just giving us one surprise album in 2020, Swift returned to her cabin in the woods and a mere five months later released Evermore. The distorted vocal effects and shifts in dynamics on I Knew You Were Trouble heighten the sense of frustration that drives the song, and the driving rhythm section on Holy Ground reflects Swifts reminiscence of a lover who took off faster than a green light, go. Not all of the songs here are so keenly observedState of Grace and I Almost Do lack the specificity thats one of Swifts songwriting trademarks, while the title track underwhelms with its train of pedestrian similes and metaphorsbut if Reds highlights were career-best work for Swift at the time. 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). She later builds upon this skill with an added emphasis on production and atmosphere, landing victorious (almost) every time. What makes Taylor's first foray into pop so often irresistible is her ability to rise above the genre's preoccupation with recycled hooks and surface level lyrics. Some of her trademarksher gift for melody, her third-act POV reversalswere already present here, but theres a sloppiness to the writing that shes long since cleaned up. But her mounting success undoubtedly stands on the shoulders of Speak Now's case studies of condensing complex inner dilemmas seeing your parents' failed marriage as a prophecy, wishing you'd never grown up into an album still adorned with hope. Lists Evermore: Every Taylor Swift Album, Ranked According To Reddit Evermore: Every Taylor Swift Album, Ranked According To Reddit By Meah Peers Published Dec 12, 2020 With two new albums, Evermore and Folklore, released this year, how does Taylor Swift's new work compare to her classics? Sure, this album has its highs and lows and is filled with impressive tracks, but it ranks below others because although it feels like many things she does here (like haunting lyrics and pop beats) are things she's done before and a bit better in her previous releases. Marjorie is a tear-jerking tribute to her late grandmother and Justin Vernon-duet Evermore is a euphoric beacon of hope that feels especially poignant at the end of 2020. "The 1" and "August" tied for the top spot. And on this album, in particular, the stories she tells are about how her narrators choices impact others, often in ways that cause irreparable harm. "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. Yet between its plot-point breadcrumbs is an inherent relatability embedded in Taylor's never-better introspection. Swifts seventh ignores the bombastic electro-pop of its predecessor, and instead embraces the sleek stylings of 1989. Swift shines brightest on these songs, building and developing her story out of economic but evocative turns of phrase.". In fact, most every song is stripped to a softer core than we've ever heard from Taylor before, with the exception of some past anomalies (re: Reputation's "New Years Day"). When you pose the question of why Taylor Swift is among the most distinguished artists in popular music, the strength of her narrative songwriting is among the best answers. 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. How does Midnights compare to its worthy predecessors? folklore is a backward glance over your shoulder clouded by a cold air exhale and it remains Taylor's greatest work to date. Songs that sum up this album include "State Of Grace," a different sound with gorgeous lyrics that are undoubtedly Swiftian; "I Knew You Were Trouble," a reflective song full of dramatic production effects and a driving beat; "All Too Well," a slow ballad reminiscing a past love with emotional lyrics and execution; and "22," an effortless pop hit. Her once apolitical music is, on Lover, peppered with references to Americas current state of affairs, both thinly veiled (Death by a Thousand Cuts) and more overt (You Need to Calm Down). But before expanding on her honeymoon phase, we're treated to the tour-de-force track "Cruel Summer" (not a Bananarama cover), a buzzer-beating, angst-wielding anthem that's among the greatest pop songs her auteur has ever crafted. Its fantasias are more melancholic, its themes of longing more resentful. What condemns 1989's position at the lower third of this list then is the sad truth that some of the choruses rotating here sound like they could have been parsed out to much-lesser 2010s pop stars. Keefe, Folklore is neither a culmination of Swifts career to date nor a pivot in a new direction. Teaming up with The Nationals Aaron Dessner (who worked on 11 of the 16 songs) and long-time collaborator Jack Antonoff, its a stunning collection of modern folk songs. And that's really all Swift, whose genius for conversational melodies and knack for giving every chorus a telling new twist every time around remain unmistakable trademarks.". By album three Swift was a certified Big Deal. Immediate highlights include tracks like "Willow," an upbeat song that transports listeners back to the "Folklore" universe. She may be on the outs, but she sure isn't alone. Though she was praised for her songwriting right out of the gate, what Swifts self-titled debut truly shows in hindsight is how diligently shes worked to hone her craft over the years. "Drew looks at me / I fake a smile so he won't see / that I want and I'm needin' / Everything that we should be" was as good as poetry, and a north star to the forlorning that looms in girlhood. document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "ae642da28755683afdf2ec0fe06ed858" );document.getElementById("facec42938").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Fearless in its original 2008 form was adolescent in every way: a gentle voice singing fantasies of Juliet finding her Romeo, a boy on a white horse beckoning his hardened princess. Dark, biting, sassy, and straight-up cool, in this track, Swift makes it known that she's here to play and no one can take her down: "But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time / Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time. But, as is tradition, the haters hardly scratched the surface of this sixth record, overlooking its genuine feats of all-encompassing production and high-energy, in-your-face vocals. So while still an undeniably amazing album, and a true testament to her style's shape-shifting abilities, she can and has done better than 1989 even if it was her second go-around for Album of the Year. In her defense, no creative mind can be consistently remarkable, not even one as decorated and revered as Taylor Swift. Where her debut guaranteed she was, at the very least, a momentary sensation, it wasn't until 2008's Fearless that the world understood the musical force that Taylor Swift could be. 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." Cinquemani, Swifts 1989 severed whatever vestiges of her country roots remained on 2012s Red, replacing acoustic guitars and pedal steel with multi-layered synthscapes, drum machines, and densely packed vocal tracking. The album plays as a survey course in contemporary pop, and Swift is game to try just about anything, from the uninhibited dance-pop of standout Starlight to the thundering heartland rock of Holy Ground. The tracks that work best are those on which the production is creative and modern in ways that are in service to Swifts songwriting. '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. Many artists lucky enough to enjoy their 15 minutes of fame peak at the onset, delivering one or two tokens of pop culture product before a dwindling stream of less impressive ventures. "Mine" proves this point at the LP's onset, condensing years into seconds, tracing the shadow childhood trauma casts over a guarded, grown-up love ("You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter / You are the best thing that's ever been mine"). Certainly, it matters that the two albums were born of the protracted isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic and that collaborators like Bon Iver and the Nationals Aaron Dessner figure prominently on both. She also notably upgrades the production, as a Professor of Commercial Music explains to EW, with subtle shifts towards a fuller-bodied musical accompaniment (no longer a one-dimensional country backing), re-layering instruments along with slight switch-ups in tempo. How Marvel went big with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Like folklore, much of evermore is made up of somber soliloquies that materialize like a fine mist over a field in the dead of winter. 8 Taylor Swift (2006) Written during her freshman year of high school, Taylor Swift's debut eponymous album was young Swift trying to find her real voice. The album finds Swift living up to all of the praise she earned for her songwriting earlier in career. 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. "We Were Happy," Fearless (Taylor's Version) (2021) There's a thin line between timeless and basic, and this "from the vault" track stays on the wrong side. The finished product is, of course, sterling. Casting aside the usual lengthy album campaigns or meticulously planned drip-feeding of singles, T-Swiz uncharacteristically announced Folklore the day before it was released. Taylor Swift albumsTaylor Swift - 1989Credit: Big Machine, Fall Music Preview Most Anticipated Albums, Taylor Swift albumsTaylor Swift - Speak NowCredit: Big Machine. "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. Let's be clear: There are no bad Taylor Swift albums. On earworm lead-single Anti-Hero Swift sings: Its me/Hi/Im the problem, its me, the kind of thought weve all had when lying awake trying to drift off. To celebrate the release of Swifts tenth album Midnights, here we take a look back on Taylor Swifts entire career and rank her ten albums in order of greatness. "Red" and "Lover" remain in the middle of the pack. Keefe, Swifts third album, Speak Now, is problematic in precisely the same ways that its predecessors are, but there isnt a song here that isnt an absolute wonder of technical construction. 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. Perhaps even more impressive is Swifts mastery of song structure. While tracks like Cardigan and Invisible Strings hinge on protracted metaphors, Mad Woman and Peace are blunt and plainspoken. In the song, she celebrates a level of stardom that she'd continue to exponentially build upon in the years to come: "And bring on all the pretenders / One day, we will be remembered. If Teardrops on My Guitar from Swifts debut album was her breakthrough song, it was Love Story, the ballad from its follow-up Fearless, that cemented her name in the pop history books. 'Red' is filled with top notch tunes: the brilliantly snarky 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' (Swift's first ever Billboard 100 Number One) and fizzing '22' are stone-cold smashers. Pam Grier reflects on her most iconic roles, from Coffy to Jackie Brown. From Austin Butler and Cate Blanchett to a potential Best Supporting Actress toss-up, see who EW thinks will win at the 2023 Oscars. Ranking all 129 of Taylor Swift's songs (from "Tim McGraw" to the 'Reputation' era, Rob Sheffield writes, "the weirdest and most fascinating thing about Taylor Swift will always . And, thus, here's where she lost some audiences at the onset, who understandably furrowed their brows at first listen. Filled with rootin tootin tunes like Tim McGraw, Our Song and Teardrops on My Guitar (largely considered Swifts breakout song) that stormed the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, it earned a teenage Taylor support slots on tour with Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts and Faith Hill. From Taylor Swift to Midnights, we've ranked all of the singer's studio albums from best to worst. Reputation is, without a doubt, Taylor's most polarizing work to date. While she had flirted with a transition from country in Red two years prior, 1989 came full throttle with heightened production from soon-to-be mainstay producer Jack Antonoff (of Fun. Welcome to the Quantum Realm. Speak Now. "Epiphany," track 13 on "Folklore," is written with Swift's grandfather in mind. escaped the fate of Pharrell in Minions or Timberlake in Trolls). What once felt (or possibly still feels) like the end of the world is, on "Taylor's Version," also a testament to resilience we'll make it to the other side, and we'll do it again and again. Keefe. I don't love the way the writer described some of the albums (saying Taylor sounds like a stay at home mom? 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