In light of the new Eras Tour movie release and 1989 (Taylor’s Version), there has been a lot of discourse over which albums are better. If you want the opinion of an EDUCATED swiftie, stay tuned folks. 

Taylor Swift

Now I know this may sound basic, but Debut has to be last for me. I’m not really too big of a fan of country music, and Taylor made it fun, but not fun enough to outrank everything else. I really do love hearing her little country twang in every song, but it’s just not my thing. At the end of the day, Taylor doesn’t have a single bad album, and I’m sure this album really speaks to people out there, but just not me. Maybe it’s just before my time. However, I can appreciate this album for the joy it brings with songs like “Tim McGraw” and “Picture to Burn.” I only wish she never changed the infamous lyric…

Lover 

“Lover is just so loveable. I love love love Lover.” I love all of the pop songs, and I love that it’s the first album she owned. If you listen closely, you’ll pick up on the fact that this album isn’t just talking about love, but also the fear of losing it and screwing it up. With songs like “The Archer” and “Afterglow,” Swifties feel seen and validated. It’s not by any means a bad album, but I just like the other albums more. Since it’s so new, it isn’t as nostalgic or emotional as the other ones in that sense. Just know that ranking “Lover” so low is painful. 

FEARLESS (Taylor’s Version)

UGHH. “Fearless” is actually so reminiscent of my childhood. I remember huddling over my sister’s shoulder as we used our chunky laptop with an illegal mp3 converter site to download the songs onto my iPod Nano. Even after powering through the horrible audio quality, I still converted to being a Swiftie. These are the first few Taylor songs I ever heard. 7 year-old me couldn’t relate to “The Way I Loved You,” but I could definitely scream along with her. The first half of “Fearless” is SO good and brings back so many memories, but the second half only has “Mr. Perfectly Fine” and “The Other Side of the Door.” 

Midnights

“Midnights,” the newest album that wasn’t a rerecording, was certainly a hit. But there was just a lot going on with the album. I understand it’s a collection of songs from her sleepless nights, so it’s understandable why there’s so many different themes. I just personally prefer an album where most of the songs have a similar feel to them. I think every song on this album is good, but “Maroon” is my all-time favorite, and I love the parallel to her earlier song “Red.” But overall, the album makes me kind of sad because of all the hints we were left about her relationship ending. 

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)

Listening to “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” is dancing around in your bedroom, pretending you’re in a ball gown, and screaming into a hairbrush. This whole album is so nostalgic, so teenage girl. Her voice has matured so much since the original recordings, and you can hear the fun she’s having with her old songs. The vault tracks are also so good, and “I Can See You” is the best! Now that she’s grown up and reflecting, it’s honestly more emotional. Also, I will forever miss the changed lyrics in “Better Than Revenge, but I guess it’s more politically correct now.

1989 (Taylor’s Version)

This is probably one her most popular eras with the most iconic songs. Taylor Swift fed us as a pop princess of the 2010s with hits like “Blank Space,” “Shake it Off”, and “Bad Blood”. Everything about this era is so memorable from the white sunglasses and the chopped hair to the red lip. She perfected the art of writing sad lyrics and setting them to happy music. She dabbled in this art form in “Red,” but we see it full-fledged in this album with songs like “Out of the Woods” and “Now That We Don’t Talk.” 

RED (Taylor’s Version)

“Red” is Taylor’s best rerecording due to the vault tracks we were blessed with. Not only did we get 10 minutes of “All Too Well”, but we also got “Babe”, “Better Man” and “Message in a Bottle.” This album was Taylor’s transitionary album between country and pop perfection, which she did end up achieving. All ten minutes of “All Too Well” are so telling and I now want ten minute versions of all her songs. 

evermore

While all the analogies and big words in evermore are very smarty pants, the album falls behind “folklore” because it isn’t as cohesive. “Folklore” has different themes, but they can be related back to the main love triangle story. “Evermore” has a bunch of different tales to tell. Some of the individual songs on “evermore” are better than all of “folklore,” but “folklore” is better as a whole and started this genre for her. One of my personal favorites is the title song “evermore.” It punches you in the gut a little, but at the end you feel heard. 

folklore

“Folklore” obviously takes the cake for the next best album. This lyrical masterpiece kicked off her career as Shakespeare’s modern replacement. She began her indie girl era with all lowercase titles and obscure ideas. But no matter who you are or where you’ve been, I guarantee that you can relate to one of the songs on “folklore.” The most notable of these songs are the infamous teenage love triangle perspectives: “cardigan,” “betty,” and “august.”

reputation

“Reputation” is very clearly the best album out of Taylor Swift’s whole discography. If you disagree, you clearly haven’t listened to it. It’s often mislabeled as a revenge album, but if you listen to the lyrics instead of nincompoop haters, you’ll understand it’s about finding love when it feels like the whole world is against you. We see pure pop perfection with songs like “Gorgeous” and “Delicate”, and the iconic “Getaway Car.”