An Album Review of Taylor Swift’s Entire Discography

As a general rule I don't listen to songs by one artist that feature another artist, so I have no opinion on any of Taylor Swift's songs that feature other artists. 

TAYLOR SWIFT

Tim McGraw

This song has my favorite single cover. It doesn’t get old even if I listen to it several dozen times on repeat, which I have done on multiple occasions. I love country Taylor Swift. I didn’t pay attention in my ninth grade math class, either, but I didn’t do anything nearly as constructive as WRITING TIM MCGRAW.

and looking back on all of that, it’s nice to believe. 10/10.

Picture to Burn

Immensely fun. This is a great song for the Swifties who have grievances, but it’s not that serious. The best revenge is not caring at all.

i hate that stupid old pickup truck you never let me drive. 8/10.

Teardrops on My Guitar

This song is extremely good considering how repetitive it is. The last line of the verses and first line of the chorus is just so perfect it carries the entire song on its back. 

the only one who’s got enough to break my heart. 9/10.

A Place in This World

The first time I listened to this song I thought the lyrics were stupid so I never listened to it again. I listened to it for a second time to write this album review. I still think the lyrics are stupid.

i’m still trying to figure it out. 3/10.

Cold As You

This is a great song for Swifties with grievances, but it is that serious. This song did a lot for me back when I had grievances, but now I just like aggressively lip syncing it when I listen to it. The bridge is just fantastic.

a mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you. 9/10.

The Outside

I feel like this song is not actually about anything, so it’s a good thing that it’s a banger.

i didn’t know what i would find when i went looking for a reason. 8/10.

Tied Together With a Smile

I have an edit I made of Kevin McCarthy with C-Span clips taken from the ten thousand Speaker votes set to the chorus of this song. Now I associate this song with Kevin McCarthy. 

it’s not his price to pay. 8/10.

Stay Beautiful.

Why would someone’s smile be like a radio? I never listen to this song. There’s nothing really wrong with it, but the rest of the album is better. 

i hope your life leads you back to my door. 4/10.

Should’ve Said No

I often feel like I should go home, so in that sense I relate to this song.

it’s strange to think the songs we used to sing. 8/10.

Mary’s Song (Oh My My My)

This song is nice. It’s crazy when you think about the difference between Mary’s Song and, say, Midnight Rain. 

take me back to the house in the backyard tree. 8/10.

Our Song

It’s iconic for a reason. I don’t really like the outro, but it’s easy to skip the last 20 seconds. 

‘cause it’s late and your mama don’t know. 8/10.

I’m Only Me When I’m With You

If you ignore the lyrics, this song is very exciting. However, you are not only you when you’re with him!! You are your own complete and distinct person!! Boyfriends are optional and you are never going to be happy with someone else’s love if you don’t love yourself first!! Upon reading the Genius annotations, I am learning that this song is actually about Abigail from Fifteen. Abigail is fantastic, this is a good song. Relationships are temporary, but, as the Spice Girls say, friendship never ends.

you and i are painting pictures in the sky. 8/10.

Invisible

I never listen to this song because You Belong With Me is better.

like shadows in a faded light. 5/10.

A Perfectly Good Heart

I never listen to this song either because, although there’s nothing seriously wrong with it, it’s easier to just skip the rest of the album after I’m Only Me When I’m With You.

how do i get it back the way it was before? 6/10.

I Heart?

My mom makes fun of me for saying the words “question mark” when I express uncertainty in speech, but Taylor Swift did it first. This song is a banger. She had me at [love isn’t real and she’s over him.] The rhymes are fantastic. Relationships really are temporary, but at least this song exists now (admittedly only on YouTube), and if it isn’t on Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version) I think I’ll just cry.

wake up and smell the breakup, fix my heart, put on my makeup. 10/10.

I’d Lie

“As he runs his fingers through his hair” sounds exactly like “reminds me that there’s time to change” from Drops of Jupiter, which is my favorite thing about this song.

he tells a joke, i fake a smile. 8/10.

overall: The debut album is so criminally underrated that I always vote for it in any poll that asks me my favorite Taylor Swift album, although the real answer is folklore. My average rating is 7.5. As a teenage girl, I have a certain appreciation for an album that is so aggressively teenage girlish. On a certain level, I don’t really relate to any of these songs about love and breakups; on a much more real level, I relate to them so much.

FEARLESS (TAYLOR’S VERSION)

Fearless

The lyrics are largely whatever but it’s just a fantastic bop. Two months ago I think I could have translated the chorus into Latin, but over the summer I’ve become out of practice. Manum meam capis et me trahis something something. 

you take my hand and drag me head first, fearless. 9/10.

Fifteen

I enjoy the storytelling aspect of the song, and it gets better as it goes along.

in your life you’ll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team. 7/10.

Love Story

It’s iconic for a reason but I was Love Storyed out a long time ago.

i love you and that’s all i really know. 8/10.

Hey Stephen

This song is fantastic. It is such a bop. It is so fun and nice. It’s just perfect.

why are people always leaving? i think you and i should stay the same. 10/10.

White Horse

I’m not the biggest fan of slow ballads, but this is above average as they go. Strong "this is a Wendy's" energy. This isn't Hollywood, this is a Wendy's.

i'm gonna find someone someday who might actually treat me well. 8/10.

You Belong With Me

It almost holds up with how popular it is and how much I have to listen to it. The bridge is great, and the way the melody in the chorus changes just after the bridge is also great. Canonically the narrator of this song is a marching band kid, like me (formerly). 

i’m on the bleachers. 8/10.

Tell Me Why

It hits different until the outro, which is underwhelming. 

here’s to you and your temper, yes, i remember what you said last night. 8/10.

You’re Not Sorry 

The melody is stupid, and the way the chorus has too many syllables foreshadows champagne problems.

you don't have to call anymore; i won't pick up the phone. 5/10.

The Way I Loved You

The message is dumb. Why do you miss someone who screamed at you over a sensible person? The chorus is great, though, and I understand why tiktok likes it. 

it’s a roller coaster kinda rush. 7/10.

Forever and Always 

Catchy, exciting. Lyrically it’s also great. The bridge, however, is boring. 

were you just kidding? 9/10.

The Best Day

This is a thank you note set to music. The music bends over backward to make the lyrics, such as they are, work. Too light and fluffy; very boring.

i've got my big coat on. 2/10

Change

The only Taylor Swift song about liberation theology, but I listened to it too many times when I was writing that essay (about liberation theology). It’s like Long Live but only half as good.

we’re faster and never scared. 6/10.

Jump Then Fall

Nice.

every time you shine, i shine for you. 8/10.

Untouchable

Not bad. Learn a new word challenge besides "come on," level impossible.

it's like a million little stars spelling out your name. 6/10.

Come In With The Rain

Nice!! The chorus is slow and sweeping without being boring. Very good.

i don't wanna go there anymore. 7/10.

Superstar

I can never get into this one, no matter how many times I try.

misty morning comes again. 2/10.

The Other Side of the Door

Amazing, brilliant, especially the lines just before the chorus. The outro is the best one she’s ever written. Swifties should, however, remember, that when someone leaves, they do not, in fact, generally want their ex to chase after them since no means no!!

when i left i wanted you to chase after me. 9/10.

Today Was a Fairytale

Charming!! There are some great moments, such as the entire chorus.

fell in love when i saw you standing there. 8/10.

Mr. Perfectly Fine

One of the most relatable songs for me, for sure. It does not have infinite replay value.

someday maybe you’ll miss me, but by then you’ll be mr. too late. 8/10.

We Were Happy

Admittedly very Fearlessy but there’s no depth.

i hate those voices. 3/10.

Don’t You

An unremarkable sad ballad. 

don't you smile at me and ask how i've been. 3/10.

Bye Bye Baby

It grows on me but oh my god stop repeating the title. Learn a new word (other than bye bye) challenge part two, level impossible!! Nice bridge.

you took me home but you just couldn’t keep me. 8/10.

overall: My average rating for Fearless is 6.68. Clearly it is not my favorite; however, no other album has Hey Stephen and The Other Side of the Door. I feel a certain kinship with this album. It is a largely uncomplicated album, and I am a simple woman. With myself, as with Fearless, it's just not that serious. The real Fearless was inside me all along. 

SPEAK NOW (TAYLOR’S VERSION)

Mine

Fantastic track 1. This is what the album is all about. I really really like how she changes the lyrics and the way she sings the chorus throughout the song.

do you remember all the city lights on the water? 9/10.

Sparks Fly

This used to be my favorite song on the album but now I think that’s Last Kiss or Foolish One. Still, an amazing song. It’s such a banger.

get me with those green eyes, baby, as the lights go down. 9/10.

Back to December

I used to not like this song much because I don’t think Taylor Swift should ever have to apologize for anything, but now I like it because I enjoy songs about not being able to get over the past. The melody of the chorus is a little boring but she sounds great singing it. Some of the songs on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) sound a little odd now that she’s older and wiser and no longer a silly teenager with a teenager voice, but this one holds up very well. Her friendship with Taylor Lautner makes me happy and I enjoy their reenactment of the spiderman meme.

i think about summer, all the beautiful times. 9/10.

Speak Now

There are some great moments, like the part about the gown shaped like a pastry, but it probably makes the most sense to skip the rest of the song after “you wish it was me, don’t you.” I prefer the way she sings that line in the original version.

you wish it was me, don’t you. 6/10. 

Dear John

This song deserves the hype. I think Speak Now is a big step up from Fearless because the narrative arc?? of the songs is a lot better. It makes sense that this song is six minutes because of the way it develops musically instead of being the same thing over and over. It tells a story, you know? I’ve heard people say that the guitar part imitates John Mayer as a sick burn, and I think that’s neat.

maybe it’s you and your sick need to give love then take it away. 9/10.

Mean

I think this song is a little bit silly but I enjoy the stringed instruments. I am very amused by the part at the end of the bridge where she accuses her critics of being LIARS and PATHETIC and ALONE IN LIFE and MEAN. It’s just so out of pocket I have to appreciate it. I prefer the way she sang it in the original version. Still, a great song for Swifties with grievances.

all you are is mean, and a LIAR, and PATHETIC, and ALONE IN LIFE, and mean. 7/10.

The Story of Us

A fantastic and relatable song for me. It doesn’t have the compelling narrative arc of, say, Dear John or Last Kiss, but that’s okay because it’s a banger. I mean that the melody doesn't have a narrative arc; the lyrics have a narrative arc for sure.

next chapter. 9/10.

Never Grow Up

Conceptually I disapprove of this song because it’s not possible to go back to how things were, and you’re not even the same person as back then, so it’s no use wanting to go back. Also, I like being eighteen better than I liked being seven or fourteen or a baby. I don’t really listen to this song, but it’s not bad or anything. If she’s singing to her past self, how is her little hand wrapped around her own finger?

i just realized everything i have is someday gonna be gone. 6/10.

Enchanted

On one level I think it’s silly that this song is about the Owl City guy, but on another level I don’t understand why it’s silly. Anyway, I’m glad she met Owl City guy because now I get to listen to this song.

my thoughts will echo your name until i see you again. 9/10.

Better than Revenge

I think the new version is better than the original. For the most part I like the lyric change. It’s clever and I like how she sings it. The second verse is amazing. I love this song more than feminism. 

she thinks i’m psycho cause i like to rhyme her name with things. 10/10.

Innocent

Yesterday I learned that Look What You Made Me Do samples this song. This makes me happy. Personally I think this song is sort of making fun of Kanye by suggesting he couldn’t handle anything more difficult than childhood. The chorus feels sincere. So it’s a complicated thing.

you’ll have new septembers. 9/10.

Haunted

I don’t like the way her voice echoes. Whoever made that choice should be executed. The instruments are great. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again that I love a good song about not being able to get over the past.

something keeps me holding onto nothing. 8/10.

Last Kiss

I like this song in the way I like Dear John, except even more. It’s a great way to experience the sadness and wistfulness of a breakup without being broken up with. It saves a lot of time and energy. Taylor Swift is so real for this one. 

i’ll watch your life in pictures like i used to watch you sleep. 10/10.

Long Live

Her enunciation is a million times better in the new version. The line “this is absurd” no longer sounds like “this is a sword.” It’s a massive improvement. This is a great song for anyone who has ever won a band competition. I wrote an essay once about Augustus and the Curia Julia, and I would have titled it It Was the End of a Decade but the Start of an Age if either Augustus had become emperor or the Curia Julia had been built at the end of a decade; alas, these things happened in the beginning/middle of decades.

i had the time of my life fighting dragons with you. 9/10.

Ours

This song is Stay Stay Stay’s equally bad older sister. It is bad in almost all of the same ways. It is about John Mayer. Also, I don’t like the use of the passive voice in the bridge, or actually ever.

people throw rocks at things that shine. 1/10.

Superman

I wish so much that she changed three lyrics so the song was about her dad instead of John Mayer. This is such a weird way to think about your boyfriend. The phrase “tall, dark, and Superman” should not exist. Superman is a noun.

i love you forever. 3/10.

If This Was a Movie

I don’t understand why this isn’t on the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) album, This bothers me. I don’t listen to this song, but that’s more a result of my general disdain for the bonus tracks.

i was playing back a thousand memories. 7/10.

When Emma Falls in Love

I think the narrator is in love with Emma.  The first time I listened to this song I was really expecting this to be made clear by the end, instead of just being implied.

like if cleopatra grew up in a small town. 6/10.

I Can See You

This song is sort of very un-Taylor Swift-like. It is fantastic and makes me think I should expand my taste in music. Someone on the Taylor Swift subreddit described this song as “surf rock” and now I have a playlist Spotify made for me called Surf Rock Mix. The songs are not actually that similar to this, but they’re mostly good, and I love the guitar (which I think is the real similarity). Increasingly I realize my taste in music is objectively not very good. I enjoy the “ah, ah, ah” because it sounds like a variation on the “ah ay, ay” in Mine. 

i can see you waiting down the hall for me. 9/10.

Foolish One

This song gives great advice. As someone who never learns her lesson, ever, in any context, I feel seen.

stop checking your mailbox for confessions of love. 10/10.

Timeless

I am so sure the lyrics were written before the music. I could believe that this was an AO3 fanfic before it was a song. This is a short story set to music. It almost works. I think it would work if there were two more lines repeated in each chorus. Mary’s Song is better.

i would’ve read your love letters every single night. 6/10.

overall: People who think Speak Now is the best album are correct. It is consistently extremely good, and I think the album is better than the sum of its parts. My average rating is 7.76 but the bonus tracks ruin it, and I don’t think the bonus tracks count. So personally I would say my average rating is 8.44. I first listened to Speak Now while I was writing a debate which we won. It was very auspicious. 

RED (TAYLOR’S VERSION)

State of Grace 

Embarrassingly, I didn't realize that this song was uptempo. Very iconic!! Very Red!! It’s understandable why this is the first song on the album.

and i’ll never be the same. 9/10.

Red

This song is so, so iconic and it never gets old. “Loving you was red” is the only Taylor Swift lyric that is also the title of a notes doc on my laptop.

loving him was red. 9/10.

Treacherous 

The first half of this song belongs on Fearless and I mean this in the worst way possible. The bridge and the outro are massive improvements. If the last word of your song is “and I like it,” you have done something wrong. You know what I like, is apples and peanut butter.

your name has echoed through my mind. 4/10

I Knew You Were Trouble

I truly can’t judge as I knew this song since before I knew who Taylor Swift was.

i guess you didnt care, and i guess i liked that. 5/10.

All Too Well

I don’t know why anyone would listen to this song since there’s a ten minute version. 

5/10.

22

Iconic for a reason!! But too iconic for me to enjoy anymore

we’re happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time. 6/10.

I Almost Do

I hate the “I just wanna tell you.” This song is really whatever.

i hope sometimes you wonder about me. 3/10

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Musically, the You Belong With Me of Red. I think they sound sort of similar is what I mean. I love the bridge. It’s overplayed and now I don’t listen to it. 

i mean, this is exhausting. 8/10

Stay Stay Stay

This song sounds like video game music with a bad AO3 fanfic superimposed over it. It’s so light and fluffy it’s just stupid. If he thinks it’s funny when you’re mad, run girl!!

i’ve been loving you for quite some time. 1/10

Holy Ground

State of Grace’s (even more fun) sister!! The drum beat is fantastic and this song is so exciting. 

you skip the conversation when you already know. 10/10.

Sad Beautiful Tragic

I think I could grow to enjoy this song if I did homework while listening to it on repeat, but that is the only way that would ever happen. It’s a boring ballad with potential for me to enjoy it. 

you've got your demons, and darling, they all look like me. 3/10

The Lucky One

Sounds like Untouchable but somehow worse. I mean, the story is there, and the chorus is neat. But the whole song is too,,, just so, and I dislike many of the lyrics.

everybody loves pretty. 4/10.

Everything Has Changed

A collab, but from the little pieces I’ve heard against my will it sounds great!!

8/10, I guess

Starlight

I used to like this song but I can’t get past how much I hate the lyric “oh my, what a marvelous tune.”

don’t you dream impossible things? 5/10.

Begin Again

One of her rare songs that I can hum and I’m still almost completely indifferent to. I’m going to say I don’t care for it.

on a wednesday in a cafe i watched it begin again. 4/10.

The Moment I Knew

So many of these songs are just not very Red, they are just boring. I like that the chorus is loud. The chorus is not boring.

it was like slow motion. 6/10.

Come Back, Be Here

This song is neat, but I never listened to it until I started writing this review. The buildup is quite good. 

this is when the feeling sinks in. 8/10.

Girl At Home 

The lyrics are stupid but it’s catchy. You love to see that Taylor Swift is an upstanding member of society and not a stupid girl.

it would be a fine proposition if i was a stupid girl. 5/10.

Ronan 

r/TaylorGamesWannaPlay doesn’t believe in rating this song, and I am, in fact, a redditor.

Better Man

This song convinced me to quit marching band, and I can listen to it while reading. It has done so much for me and it goes so hard. 

i hold onto this pride because these days it’s all i have. 10/10.

Babe

There is nothing wrong with this song.

what about your promises? 7/10.

Message in a Bottle

Just a great bop. I, too, have been known to wonder how it is in London. Well, I’m sure I have at least once.

you could be the one that i keep. 8/10.

Forever Winter

I think those are trumpets, and they’re fantastic. This is a song about a real person dying. It is a good song even absent of context.

i’ll be summer sun for you forever.

The Very First Night

The perfect fun exciting uptempo bop. I’m not sure how well the first chorus starts the song, but I guess it had to start somewhere. I love the Kurt Vonnegut reference.

do you know how much i miss her?? 9/10.

All Too Well (10 Minute Version)

I think everyone can relate to this song at least a little, unless they’re extremely lucky to only have lovely people in their lives. It’s a rare song that holds up so well for ten minutes. It goes so hard. But it is not her best song!! There are better songs!!

you call me up again just to break me like a promise. 9/10

overall: My average rating for this album is 6.3 and I think it’s my least favorite one. It needs to be significantly shorter, and a lot of the songs do not fit into the theme at all (best exemplified by State of Grace I think) and are instead just sad ballads. 

1989

Welcome To New York

There is only one city in the world where this song is any good. It could have been interesting if every song on this album was about a different city. I would listen to that. 

the lights are so bright but they never blind me. 8/10 in new york and 4/10 everywhere else.

Blank Space

There are a lot of things I like about this song, but eventually it gets old. My dad knows at least one two of the lyrics to this song. It really is a cultural phenomenon. 

darling, i’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream. 7/10.

Style

I have recently developed a newfound appreciation for this song. It’s iconic for a reason. The bridge is fantastic.

take me home. 8/10.

Out of the Woods

My mom likes this song. I am very amused by the fan theory that this song is about vehicular manslaughter, but if Taylor Swift and Harry Styles had committed a felony, I think they would not be leaving hints about it in their music.

when the sun came up, you were looking at me. 9/10.

All You Had To Do Was Stay

This is a great song, but it would be better if the word “stay” were about ten octaves lower. It really is funny how Taylor Swift keeps accusing Harry Styles of being a bad driver. 

you were all i wanted. 8/10.

Shake It Off

The song by Florence and the Machine with almost the same name is better, although no one can say it’s as much of a cultural phenomenon as Shake It Off.

got nothing in my brain. 5/10.

I Wish You Would

I like this song in the same way I like All You Had To Do Was Stay, except more.

i miss you too much to be mad anymore. 9/10.

Bad Blood

So dramatic it’s just silly. I never listen to this song.

it’s so sad to think about the good times. 4/10.

Wildest Dreams

This song is also very dramatic, but the only thing wrong with it is that I’ve listened to it too much and I no longer appreciate it. I hope everyone remembers my nice dresses, too. 

i bet these memories follow you around. 7/10.

How You Get the Girl

I wonder if this is good advice. It’s a banger for sure. I like this song in the same way I like I Wish You Would, only slightly less.

broke your heart, i’ll put it back together. 8/10.

This Love

I never listen to this song because the lines “this love is good” and “this love is bad” ideally should not be in any song at all, but they especially should not be directly next to each other and repeated in every chorus. How am I supposed to take you seriously when you only know two adjectives. 

these hands had to let it go free. 4/10.

I Know Places

I might listen to this song if it were on reputation. How is this song not on reputation? 

loose lips sink ships. 6/10.

Clean

I have a newfound appreciation for this song, too. It’s perfectly good. I enjoy the implication that boyfriends are bad for you in the same sense that drugs are bad for you.

when i was drowning, that’s when i could finally breathe. 7/10.

Wonderland

If her extended metaphors were always as good as this, I would actually listen to The Great War. I like mishearing the lyric as “haven’t you heard what becomes of curious mice?” I mean, she has multiple cats.

didn’t it all seem new and exciting? 9/10.

You Are In Love

The verses almost have too few syllables, but she pulls it off. The chorus is great. I love repeating words. I also love the Kurt Vonnegut reference.

you can feel it on the way home way home way home way home. 7/10.

New Romantics

I have been known to wait for more than a few trains that just aren’t coming. I thought about calling my Curia Julia paper I Could Build a Senate House Out of All the Bricks They Threw At Me but ultimately I went with He’s Going to Burn This (Senate) House to the Ground because the senate houses kept getting set on fire. 

ah ahah ah-ah-ah. 9/10.

overall: This is objectively a very good album, which I know because everyone thinks it is excellent, and I am a great believer in the wisdom of crowds; however, I skip half (44%) of the songs, so I can’t say it’s my favorite. My average rating is 6.94 everywhere that isn’t New York. I think her expression on the new album cover looks more like a grimace than a smile. She looks concerned.

Part two coming relatively soon.