The re-recording and re-release of Taylor Swift’s Red album has launched Swifties everywhere, myself included, right back into their Taylor Swift obsession. However, it won’t be just old Taylor Swift fans crying to the All Too Well ten-minute version. The launch of Red (Taylor’s Version) will no doubt create a whole new legion of Taylor Swift fans. In the spirit of this, I decided to compile a list of my favorite Taylor Swift songs from each album that I would recommend any Swiftie, new or old, to listen to.
Taylor Swift- released in 2006
For the longest time, I thought Taylor Swift’s first album was Fearless and lived in ignorance of the hidden gem that is her debut country album. While the most popular songs off of this album are definitely Tim McGraw and Teardrops on my Guitar, my personal favorites are Picture to Burn, Our Song, and I’m Only Me When I’m With You. Even though Picture to Burn is a break-up song, all three are extremely upbeat, and it’s always fun to hear Swift’s country accent.
Fearless- released in 2008
Fearless is full of absolutely iconic songs, with absolutely no skips (at least in my opinion). However, if I had to choose my top favorites out of this album, I would have to pick Fearless, White Horse, The Way I Loved You, and Forever and Always. Fearless is arguably one of Swift’s songs because it truly captures the heartbreaking optimism of starting a relationship. White Horse and The Way I Loved You are both popular on their own, but particularly appeal to me because as I got older I was really able to relate to their lyrics. White Horse perfectly describes how it feels to make the choice to leave a relationship because it’s the right thing to do, despite still having feelings, and you can really feel Swift’s passion when singing The Way I Loved You. Forever and Always is a great song about a high school breakup, and it’s the perfect mix of a fast-paced beat and petty lyrics.
Speak Now- released in 2010
Like Fearless, Speak Now is a fairly solid album. My favorite Speak Now songs have definitely changed as I got older. While I used to love Mine, Speak Now, and Better than Revenge, my current favorites are The Story of Us, Enchanted, and Haunted. The Story of Us is fairly underrated, but it and Enchanted are currently making a comeback as viral sounds on TikTok. The Story of Us is extremely relatable to anyone that’s been in a relationship that was never defined, and Enchanted is a really beautiful song with a hilarious backstory. The alleged subject of Enchanted, the lead singer of OWL City, Adam Young, even wrote and sang a response that went unanswered. Haunted seems to be a continuation of The Story of Us, and the lyrics are extremely heartbreaking but resonating.
Red- released in 2012
Red is the most recent album to be re-released, and I am just beginning to recognize how amazing of an album it really is. Red is primarily a heartbreak album, and easily the best song on the album is All Too Well. Even if you can’t relate to the lyrics, it’s still extremely therapeutic to scream the lyrics of All Too Well in your car after a long day. State of Grace, Treacherous, and The Lucky One are my personal favorites off of this album. State of Grace is one of the few happy songs on the album and the bridge of Treacherous is severely underrated. The lyrics of The Lucky One are absolutely devastating, and they shine an interesting light on Swift’s experience as a young pop star.
1989- released in 2014
1989, the first fully pop album, is widely considered to be one of Swift’s best albums. I love every song on this album, and so it was very hard to choose my favorites. However, the songs that I always come back to on the 1989 album are Clean, How You Get the Girl, New Romantics, and You are In Love. Clean is a great song for a post-breakup when you’re finally ready to move on. How You Get the Girl and New Romantics are a refreshing change of pace from all of Swift’s slow, heartbreaking songs, and You are In Love is extremely underrated with some of the most beautiful lyrics out of all of her songs.
Reputation- released in 2017
Ah yes, the Reputation era. The Reputation album was such a change of pace for Swift but done so well that fans couldn’t help but love it. While many of the songs on the album are about Swift exacting her revenge on her haters, there are several about her relationship with Joe Alwyn that are extremely sweet and romantic. My favorite songs off of the Reputation album are Getaway Car, Gorgeous, and King of My Heart. Getaway Car details the possible end of Swift’s relationship with Tom Hiddleston and is extremely popular with Swifties. Gorgeous and King of My Heart are both about the beginning of Swift’s relationship with Joe Alwyn, and they’re even better knowing that the two are still going strong almost five years later.
Lover- released in 2019
I don’t think the release of Lover was as hyped as the release of Swift’s other albums, and as a result, I didn’t fully listen to it until a while after it was released. While I do love the album, it’s a little harder to relate to than Swift’s other albums because all of her songs are about being in love. My favorite songs on this record are Paper Rings, London Boy, and Soon You’ll Get Better.
Folklore- released in 2020
Folklore was a complete surprise of an album, released in the middle of quarantine. Folklore is an excellent example of how Swift adapts to the current music trend of an indie style. An especially interesting feature of Folklore is the different storylines that can be found in the music, such as the love triangle in Betty, Cardigan, and August. My favorite songs from Folklore are The 1, My Tears Ricochet, and August. My Tears Ricochet has gone viral recently on Tiktok for the lyrics “I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want just not home”, and I’m so glad it’s started to get the recognition it deserves.
Evermore- released in 2021
Evermore is Folklore’s sister album, released very soon after Folklore. The style of Evermore and Folklore is extremely similar, and both include collaborations with Bon Iver. My favorite tracks off of Evermore are Champagne Problems, Right Where You Left Me, and Evermore. Champagne Problems is one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs ever and Bon Iver’s verses in Evermore are absolutely beautiful. Right Where You Left Me is a very creative take on a breakup and highlights a lot of feelings that Swift does not normally touch on in her songs.
Happy listening Swifties!