Ranked: Midnights by Taylor Swift

Midnights (Taylor Swift) Ranked – If you’ve been to The Rom Com Catalog, you’ll already know I’m a huge Swiftie. I’ve ranked my favorite Track 5 songs and my Top 20 Favorite Songs from Taylor (which will be updated soon), but after listening to Midnights since its release last October, I decided to finally rank all the songs on the 3am Edition from least favorite to favorite.

Feel free to comment below and let me know your own rankings!

20. Glitch

I honestly don’t know why I’m not into this song. It does nothing for me, and I’ve only listened to it a few times. It’s the weakest song on the album (IMO) and really the only primary skip I have.

Favorite Lyric: Nights are so starry // blood moonlit // it must be counterfeit
If you like Glitch, you would also enjoy: Dress (Reputation), False God (Lover)

19. Vigilante Shit

Taylor’s on her vigilante shit again, taking to task the unlucky few who have wronged her. This song is very Billie Eilish-esque to me. I don’t dislike it, despite being ranked #19 out of 20. I don’t seek it out when I decide to listen to Taylor, and I think I prefer mad woman when I am in the mood for an angry-Taylor song.

Favorite Lyric: I don’t start shit, but I can tell you how it ends
If you like Vigilante Shit, you would also enjoy: mad woman (folklore), Karma (Midnights)

18. Dear Reader

Dear Reader is a bit underwhelming compared to the rest of the album. Taylor doles out some significant advice while warning you not to take advice from someone falling apart – I can see this as Taylor understands how connected her fans are to her music and words. Still, she’s not someone to be put on a pedestal, and thus… be cautious about taking her words as gospel.

Favorite lyric: Never take advice from someone who’s falling apart
If you like Dear Reader, you would also enjoy: long story short (evermore), The Manuscript (TTPD/The Anthology)

17. Paris

Paris’s catchy beat paints a dreamy picture of Taylor and her lover ignoring the world around them, preferring to be lost in each other instead. I like this song just fine… I just don’t love it. If it comes on, I probably won’t skip it if I’m in the mood to bop around.

Favorite Lyric: Romance is not dead, if you keep it just yours
If you like Paris, you would also enjoy: the lakes (folklore), London Boy (Lover)

16. Bigger than the Whole Sky

It’s hard to listen to this song, which is why I have it so far down my rankings. Bigger Than the Whole Sky is about loss, and while it doesn’t specify what kind of loss, many women have associated the song with the loss of a child or pregnancy. The stages of grief are evident. It’s a beautiful song; maybe someday I’ll be able to listen to it more, but I really have to be in the mood for a cry.

Favorite Lyric: Did some bird flap its wings over in Asia? // Did some force take you because I didn’t pray?
If you like Bigger Than the Whole Sky, you would also enjoy: marjorie (evermore), epiphany (folklore), Ronan (RED)

15. High Infidelity

This song feels like a confessional—Her current relationship is fading, and they are not on the same page regarding their future. In fact, she’s met someone new. WHERE WERE YOU ON APRIL 29TH, TAYLOR? I have always thought this song tied into Getaway Car and her relationship with Calvin Harris. Of course, it’s all speculation, but if you ask me, the two are sister songs.

Favorite Lyric: High infidelity, put on your records and regret me
If you like High Infidelity, you would also enjoy: Getaway Car (Reputation)

14. Snow at the Beach (feat. Lana Del Ray)

A cosmic, dreamy love song written by Taylor, Lana Del Ray, and Jack Antonoff. I like the production of this song quite a bit, and Taylor sounds lovely in it. It just didn’t grab me the way some of the other songs did. Is a snow-covered beach really that weird, though? Although Lana only sang background vocals, their voices sound great together, so there’s that!

Favorite Lyric: Life is emotionally abusive // And time can’t stop me quite like you did
If you like Snow at the Beach, you would also enjoy: Delicate (Reputation)

12. Sweet Nothing

I won’t lie – it’s hard to listen to this song since Taylor and Joe wrote this together, and their relationship recently ended. When the world was applying pressure and expectations on Taylor, she always knew she could go home to Joe, who never wanted anything from her but to be with her. It’s the kind of love we all deserve in our lives, and despite it being over now, I’m so happy that Taylor got to experience it. ETA 3/21/25: Apparently, it’s been revealed that Taylor was actually inspired by Paul and Linda McCartney’s relationship when she wrote Sweet Nothing. If you take into context Paul’s chaotic life as a Beatle when he met Linda, the lyrics actually make a lot of sense. There are some other references to Paul and Linda within the song, which makes it more appealing to me, to be honest, especially knowing where Taylor’s relationship with Joe was headed at the time of Midnights.

Favorite Lyric: And the voices that implore, “You should be doing more” // To you, I can admit that I’m just too soft for all of it
If you like Sweet Nothing, you would also enjoy: Delicate (Reputation), Ours (Speak Now)

13. Question…?

From the get-go, we know exactly who this song is for. Taylor sampled her own Out of the Woods (rumored to be about Harry Styles), so… yeah. Taylor wants to ask some questions, that’s all. She wants some explanations. What went wrong? Are there any regrets? I think Question…? is a song that will eventually grow on me the more I listen to it. Right now, I like it. But that’s really all I have to say about it. ETA 3/21/25: After finding out about Taylor’s decade-long situationship with Matty Healy, I think there’s a case for saying this song could also be about him – or at least a combination of relationships Taylor had that perhaps left her feeling a lack of closure.

Favorite Lyric: Does it feel like everything’s just like second best after that meteor strike?
If you like Question…?, you would also enjoy:: Out of the Woods (1989)

11. Bejeweled

Taylor regains her shimmer in this pop anthem for confidence. It can be exhausting, working so hard to make someone treat you like a priority that you forget how to shine on your own… but in Bejeweled, Taylor reminds her neglectful lover that she can still light up any room she walks into, and she’s gonna! This is one of the songs on Midnights that doesn’t grab me emotionally, but it’s still fun to dance to.

Favorite Lyric: I made you my world, have you heard? I can reclaim the land // And I miss you, but I miss sparkling
If you like Bejeweled, you would also enjoy: Bye, Bye, Baby (Fearless – Taylor’s Version), Better Man (Red – Taylor’s Version)

10. Mastermind

Taylor finally tells her lover that their relationship did not happen by accident – the fates may have put them in the same room together, but Taylor orchestrated the rest. She laid the groundwork, set the chess table, and was the finger that pushed the first of many cascading dominos. But of course, there’s a twist – her lover knew her games all along. Mastermind is not a song I play often, but when I do decide to listen to it, I fall in love with it a little bit more.

Favorite Lyric: I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian ’cause I care
If you like Mastermind, you would also enjoy: Call It What You Want (Reputation), Paper Rings (Lover)

09. Lavender Haze

Someday I will have to rank my favorite opening songs to Taylor’s albums – I think Lavender Haze would probably make the top five. It sets the perfect tone for the album to come. “Meet me at midnight…” Taylor isn’t interested in conforming to what society wants or expects from her – she just wants to continue to live in the protective bubble of being with the person she loves.

Favorite Lyric: No deal, the 1950s shit they want from me
If you like Lavender Haze, you would also enjoy: willow (evermore)

08. Karma

I remember venturing onto the Taylor Swift subreddit after Midnights was leaked before its release. I didn’t listen to the leaks but read some opinions from people who did. And they tore Karma apart, mainly because the lyrics had shown up online, and so many people absolutely hated them. Ha! Jokes on them because Karma is excellent. Taylor gleefully sings about her and karma being besties, while karma takes its toll on those who have wronged her in the past. Karma can be so many things, but karma is best when Taylor is living her best life.

Favorite lyric: Ask me what I learned from all those years // ask me what I earned from all those tears // ask me why so many fade, but I’m still here
If you like Karma, you would also enjoy: This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things (Reputation), Vigilante Shit (Midnights), thanK u aIMee (TTPD/The Anthology)

07. The Great War

Taylor loves metaphors, and she packs The Great War full of them! Look, relationships are hard, especially when there are trust issues and insecurities to navigate. Taylor tells us that fighting for love is like going to war; while there may be victory, there’s also bloodshed and pain. All’s fair in love and war? Not even a little bit. The Great War is a song that worms its way into your head and refuses to go away… and that’s not a bad thing!

Favorite Lyric: My knuckles were bruised like violets // sucker punching walls, cursed you as I sleep-talked
If you like The Great War, you would also enjoy: Afterglow (Lover)

06. Midnight Rain

The voice distortion threw me off the first time I heard this song, and admittedly, I skipped it the first few times I listened to Midnights for that reason alone. But then I finally gave Midnight Rain another chance, and I’m so glad I did. Taylor sings about who she had to leave behind in order to “chase that fame.” She gave up love and the simple life for something bigger, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t occasionally think back on the boy whose heart she broke.

Favorite Lyric: I guess sometimes we all get some kind of haunted, some kind of haunted // And I never think of him… except on midnights like this
If you like Midnight Rain, you would also enjoy: We Were Happy (Fearless – Taylor’s Version), Back to December (Speak Now)

05. Anti-Hero

I always tell people not to judge Taylor’s music based on her singles because, with a few exceptions, I tend to think her singles are her weakest songs. But Anti-Hero is one of those exceptions. Taylor wrote a deeply personal song about her insecurities; it’s lyrically brilliant and catchy as hell. I sometimes skip the successful singles because they’re overplayed, but I still listen to Anti-Hero almost daily. It’s one of the best on Midnights and deserves its success.

Favorite Lyric: When my depression works the graveyard shift, all of the people I’ve ghosted stand there in the room
If you like Anti-Hero, you would also enjoy: Blank Space (1989), mirrorball (folklore), The Lucky One (RED – Taylor’s Version)

04. Maroon

Taylor and her colors—this song reminds me a lot of her album, Red, except now she’s visiting every shade of the color: scarlet, maroon, and crimson. A lover who thought the relationship was more than it was is always difficult to navigate. Maroon is full of wistfulness and regret, and Taylor has never sounded better. I love everything about this song.

Favorite Lyric: Carnations you had thought were roses, that’s us
If you like Maroon, you would also enjoy: Wonderland (1989), Red (RED – Taylor’s Version)

03. Would’ve, Could’ve Should’ve

Listen to Dear John and then Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve back-to-back and prepare for a double whammy of trauma. Where Dear John chronicles Taylor’s volatile relationship with an older man (John Mayer) who did nothing but play mind games with her, Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve is dealing with the aftermath of a toxic relationship years later and the clarity of the situation as an adult. This song, full of religious imagery, was co-written with Aaron Dessner and has firmly cemented my opinion that he is perhaps her musical soulmate.

Favorite Lyric: I miss who I used to be, the tomb won’t close, stained glass windows in my mind, I regret you all the time
If you like Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve, you would also enjoy: Dear John (Speak Now)

02. You’re On Your Own, Kid

The iconic track 5. Taylor reminisces about her rise to stardom, and through it all, who could she depend on? Herself, of course. I love the bridge to this song, as everything comes full circle. The lyrics are brutal and poignant, and you can feel the empowerment in Taylor’s voice as she chronicles her life path and the lessons she’s learned along the way.

Favorite Lyric: ‘Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned // Everything you lose is a step you take
If you like You’re on Your Own, Kid, you would also enjoy: Long Live (Speak Now), It’s Time to Go (evermore), Nothing New (Red – Taylor’s Version)

01. Labyrinth

Uh oh… Taylor’s falling in love again. Surprised? Labyrinth was a song that I loved during my initial listens of Midnights, and it continued to grow on me the more I listened to it. Now, it’s become my favorite song from Midnights and probably one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs in general. It’s a simple yet effective song about finding love during the worst period of one’s life: it contains fear, uncertainty, and acceptance.

Favorite Lyric: Breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out
If you like Labyrinth, you would also enjoy: Daylight (Lover), You Are in Love (1989), Fresh Out the Slammer (The Tortured Poets Department)