Ahead of the release of Taylor Swift’s long-awaited 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, here is every Taylor Swift album ranked, including vault tracks and double albums.
16. Taylor Swift (2006)
Swift’s country debut in 2006 was one of the most consequential projects released at the time. However, as time went on, the quality of the music, lyrics and production continued to improve and outshine her first body of work.
15. Fearless (From The Vault) (2021)
Although it’s ranked low, the vault tracks from the first re-recorded album were solid and still hold up. Unfortunately, sometimes songs are scrapped for a specific reason and each of these tracks don’t necessarily improve the quality of the original record.
14. reputation (2017)
Following a massive hate train and public feud with Kayne West and Kim Kardashian in 2016, Swift released this album as a way of “killing the old Taylor” and saving her reputation. While most of the songs are actually about the art of quiet love, many of the major themes scattered across the record did not age well.
13. The Tortured Poets Department (2024)
Probably the most widely disliked album of her discography, “The Tortured Poets Department” shows the messiest and most heartbroken moments from Swift. Although I don’t personally dislike it, the second half of the double album is better in just about every way.
12. Fearless (2008)
Originally released in November 2008, this album changed the country music landscape. Earning her first GRAMMY for Album-of-the-Year, this was the project that solidified Swift as a superstar. Although it receives criticism for its immature nature, what else was an 18-year-old girl supposed to write about?
11. Lover (2019)
“Lover” still proves to be the most divisive album among the swiftie fanbase. Released in the summer before the pandemic, this album was meant to create a stark contrast with the darkness “reputation.” The singles for this project were not met with critical or public acclaim, and some of us are still recovering from the “Hey kids, spelling is fun!” lyric in “ME!” (feat. Brandon Urie).
10. Speak Now (From The Vault) (2023)
The lost songs from the original 2010 album are all strong contenders for the standard edition, yet they don’t stand out as anything special. The addition of Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and Hayley Williams of Paramore was great and they were the perfect collaboration choices for these tracks.
9. Midnights (2022)
The 2022 concept album, covering 13 sleepless nights across Swift’s life is essentially a cry for help and her inner workings disguised as a concept. While it didn’t make as big of a cultural splash as she intended, this album was a necessary one as the stepping stone for her record-breaking “Eras Tour.”
8. Red (From The Vault) (2021)
Easily the fullest of the vault tracklists, the scrapped songs from the original “Red” album still stand as some of her best work, and of course, the ten-minute-version of her song “All Too Well” will always make this an iconic project.
7. 1989 (From The Vault) (2023)
It’s almost a little hard to believe that all of these songs weren’t at least used for the deluxe version of the album. With only five lost tracks, Swift went hit-for-hit on this one. “Now That We Don’t Talk,” her shortest song to date, still holds up as one of her best songs ever written.
6. The Anthology (2024)
Released as a surprise album just two hours after the release of “The Tortured Poets Department” in 2024, these 15 songs juxtapose the synth-pop, Jack Antonoff-produced songs and explores the sad, raw folk sound that she explored during the pandemic. The instrumentation and the lyrics definitely overshadow the standard edition, however, releasing 31 songs in one night is still a little crazy.
5. 1989 (2014)
In 2014, Taylor Swift was untouchable. Songs like “Shake It Off,” “Style,” and “Blank Space” were global hits and locked her in as a worldwide sensation. This album is full of pure, perfect pop hits and everything she ever releases will definitely be compared to this one for the rest of time.
4. Red (2012)
“Red” was the very first time that Swift started to stray from country stardom and began dabbling in making pop music with “The Life of a Showgirl” producers Max Martin and Shellback. This album is famously Swift’s favorite record of hers, and there’s not many reasons for it except that it’s just that good.
3. folklore (2020)
On a fateful Thursday morning in July in the heat of the pandemic, Swift announced that she would be releasing her eighth studio album just 16 hours later. Trying out an alternative folk style, it was a career-revival and many accredit this album for her current cultural impact.
2. Speak Now (2010)
At just 19 years old, Swift wrote her third studio album completely by herself. There’s elements of rock, a little bit of pop, and of course, her signature country sound. From start to finish, this album is extremely authentic and emotional, and captures her relatability at its peak.
1. evermore (2020)
It’s never really been up for debate that Swift’s sister folk albums contain the strongest storytelling and songwriting of her long career. This album required a dictionary on-hand for the first full listen, and I truly don’t believe Swift could ever craft something so delicate, beautiful and profound ever again.
