If you have social media at all, you know that Taylor Swift’s sixth studio album, Reputation, dropped November 10th. Even if you haven’t heard it, you’ve probably heard how it’s completely different from any of her previous albums, even 1989, which was her first official pop album. I love Taylor Swift, so I listened to Reputation approximately 17 times the first day I got my hands on it, and I’ve ranked each song here for your listening convenience. There are 15 tracks on the album, so #15 is the weakest (in my opinion), with #1 being the best.
This was the first song we heard from the album, and although the music video is pretty freakin’ cool, the song itself is mediocre. I don’t think that’s something I need to explain; I’m pretty sure we can all agree we got tired of this song after the third or fourth radio play.
14. End Game
I wanted to like this song so bad. It features Ed Sheeran and Future, and both of their parts are totally up to par. Lyrically, this song is creative and clever, but Taylor’s chorus in this one just sounds off.
13. This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
This is by far the pettiest song on the album, and while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it feels a little out-of-place on this album, where all the other songs focus solely on Taylor and her romances. The redeeming factor for this song is how light-hearted it is and how much fun Taylor has with it.
12. Dancing With Our Hands Tied
I don’t really have any strong opinions on this song except for that I skip it most of the time. It feels kind of bland next to all these unique songs, and as one of the few not-so-happy songs on the album, I think there was more she could have done with it. The only thing that redeems it for me is it, like most of the other songs, is a great song to dance to, and the line “I’m a mess but I’m the mess that you wanted” is simultaneously biting and heartbreaking.
11. Gorgeous
This was another one of her singles released before the album, and it’s another one that just feels good. I think it’s a song plenty of people can relate to– the whole premise is finding someone so beautiful that you can’t even think straight. The bridge is weak, but musically, the song is somewhat simple and in this case, it works.
10. New Year’s Day
This is the only (ONLY!!!!!) piano ballad on the album, and it kind of delivers. It comes at the very end of the album and talks about love, but in a forever sort of way, which is a nice note to go out on. It’s a very bare-boned song, but in this case, I think it works. The harmonies are the main focus here, and they’re very pretty. It’s a love song, but the line “please don’t ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere” is applicable to anyone in your life, and I think that’s a nice sentiment.
This song is soft and sweet, but I feel like there’s not much else to say about it. It’s more specific than the other songs on the album, which I feel like takes away the relatability factor. But overall it’s a song about being happy in a relationship regardless of what others have to say about it. It does contain one of my favorite lines in the whole album, though– “loves me like I’m brand new”– which is just so sweet and honest that it makes me melt every time.
This is my favorite of the four singles that were released before the album, and I think it sounds the least like her other albums. It’s just so fun, and it’s a great opener for the album. It’s definitely one of the funner songs on the album, along with Gorgeous. The sharpness and clash of the verses contrast with the dreaminess of the chorus in a way that actually works really well. Lines like “younger than my exes, but he acts like such a man” and “every lover known in comparison is a failure” are what really give this song its kick.
7. So It Goes…
This is one I didn’t care for that much when I first listened to it, but it’s grown on me quite a bit. Her voice is soft and breathy throughout, despite the boom of drums and synth. The most notable part of this song is the bridge, in which she croons “you did a number on me, but baby, who’s counting?” Overall, the song is about a relationship that’s not the greatest, but hey, so it goes.
6. King of My Heart
Of all the songs on the album, this is the one that relies the most heavily on the vocoder, which is essentially a really cool synthesizer. The vocoder in this song splits Taylor’s vocals into different pitches, so it sounds like seven or so of her are all harmonizing with each other (which is just really cool). This is one of the sweeter songs on this album, as it’s all about a man who is “king of [her] heart, body and soul”. The bridge is the part that really makes my heart warm, as it contains lines like “and all at once, you are the one I have been waiting for”, which perfectly represents the beautiful feeling of being with someone and feeling like it’s finally right.
5. Getaway Car
In Getaway Car, Taylor paints a picture of a Bonnie and Clyde-esque relationship. It gives the couple in question a sense that they’re running out of time, and it’s a song about a relationship that both parties knew could never really work out, but they tried anyway. Although it tells a sad story, it sounds like a regular upbeat pop song, and what makes this song a sadder one is the lyrics: “I knew it from the first old fashioned we were cursed, we never had a shotgun shot in the dark.”
4. Dress
I could talk about the brilliance of this song for hours. At first listen, it sounds like it’s simply a song about sex– “only bought this dress so you could take it off”– but the bridge is unexpectedly soft and sweet: “I woke up just in time, now I wake up by your side”. A bit of a closer look reveals that it’s about much more than just wanting to be intimate with someone. With the line “carve your name into my bedpost, I don’t want you like a best friend”, she turns the cliche of notches in a bedpost into something romantic and real. Not to mention the significance of her removing this metaphorical dress: throughout all of her past albums, she’s mentioned dancing in dresses, crying in dresses, etc., but in this song, she is removing the dress. She’s shedding off past lovers, past mistakes, and possibly her past self to start brand new with someone, which is a beautiful sentiment.
3. Don’t Blame Me
This song is one of the most unique ones on the album because it sounds like the situation she’s describing. It includes lines like “Lord save me” and then utilizes a chorus throughout, giving it almost a hymnal sound. My first impression when I heard it was that it sounded like it was right off a Fifty Shades track– booming vocals, big drums, and low, sexy verses. It’s definitely one her best on the album, vocal-wise. And it’s certainly a fun one to sing along to.
2. I Did Something Bad
I hope this song ends up being her next radio single, because I want it to get the recognition and awe it deserves. With lines like “if a man talks shit then I owe him nothing” (aka the 2018 mood) and “they’re burning all the witches even if you aren’t one”, it’s one of her fiercest songs yet. Like Blank Space, it’s a song that kind of plays into the image she has in the media of being a ruthless relationship-addict who likes to tear men apart. In this song, she lets us know she absolutely has no problem tearing men apart. It’s angry, but it’s also powerful. “They say I did something bad, but why’s it feel so good?” Something we all wonder at one point or another.
And finally…
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Delicate
Words cannot explain how much I love this song. Like in some of the other songs on this album, she utilizes the vocoder, making the intro sound breathy and, fittingly, delicate. This song perfectly encapsulates the way it feels to begin pursuing a relationship with someone, calling the situation delicate, and then sounding that way too. “Is it cool that I said all that? Is it too soon to do this yet? Cause I know that it’s delicate” is a line that is relatable to anyone who’s ever had romantic feelings for anybody. Taylor has always been good and replicating specific romantic feelings, like puppy love in the song Enchanted, longing in the song I Wish You Would, and now that hesitant beginning rush in Delicate. It’s a song that feels just like it sounds, which is something I think everybody can enjoy.
There’s a lot of debate about the definitive ranking of the songs on this album, and I’ll admit that even while working on this article, I moved the songs around quite a bit. I think the only thing we can all agree on is that Look What You made Me Do is in last place. If your ranking is different from mine, let me know!