Ranked: The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift

Ranked: The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift (& The Anthology): Can you believe it has taken me a year to rank the songs on this double album? It’s somewhat surprising how my tastes have evolved since April 19, 2024, and, honestly, this entire list could shift and change depending on any given day. But, in celebration of a year of TTPD, I’m going to just bite the bullet, so to speak, and publish this.

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

31. I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can) (TTPD)

Some women love the bad boys and are convinced that only they can save/fix them… Taylor is no exception. I honestly don’t know why I’m not into this song. I get what she’s saying, but 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 the only primary skip I have.

Favorite Lyric: I can fix him, no, really I can (no, really I can)…. whoa, maybe I can’t.

30. I Look in People’s Windows (The Anthology)

Anytime I hear I Look in People’s Windows I think of I look through the windows of this love from Death by a Thousand Cuts (Lover). This song is the shortest on the album, and it’s fine, but it’s not my favorite, and I don’t listen to it all that much.

Favorite Lyrics: I look in people’s windows, in case you’re at their table. What if your eyes looked up and met mine one more time?

29. Robin (The Anthology)

Look, Robin is a gorgeous song. I cried the first time I heard it. Actually, I cry every time I hear it, so I have to be in the right mood and frame of mind to listen to it. I have a special needs daughter, and it just hits a chord with me. This being ranked so low does not mean I dislike this song, because I don’t. I just don’t listen to it that much for various reasons.

Favorite Lyrics: The time will arrive for the cruel and the mean // You’ll learn to bounce back just like your trampoline // but now we’ll curtail your curiosity in sweetness.

28. Cassandra (The Anthology)

In Greek mythology, Cassandra had the ability of foresight, yet she was cursed so that no one would believe her when she told them what was coming. It’s not difficult to see this song references the Kimye drama from 2016, and how everyone turned against her despite Taylor knowing their accusations were lies. Taylor’s mental health, reputation, and life were affected so deeply she disappeared from the public for years – and yet when the unedited phone call was released, proving Kimye had lied about Taylor, no one really seemed to care. Cassandra is a clever song, revealing Taylor’s frustration over nearly losing everything to two narcissists. Once she was proven correct about their intentions, the people throwing their “Taylor Swift is Over” parties stayed silent.

Favorite Lyrics: When the first stone’s thrown, there’s screamin’. In the streets, there’s a raging riot. When it’s “Burn the bitch,” they’re shrieking. When the truth comes out, it’s quiet. It’s so quiet.

27. The Albatross (The Anthology)

Sailors see the albatross as a bad omen, and she turns it into a song about a new love being warned about her reputation and fame – surely she’s a destructive being who will no doubt ruin his life. And yet, maybe she will actually be the one to save him from an equally destructive world. This is a lovely song and sounds as if it could have been found on evermore.

Favorite Lyric: She’s the albatross, she is here to destroy you.

26. imgonnagetyouback (The Anthology)

Taylor sings about an ex-relationship and whether it would be a good idea to reconcile. She plays on the title as if it could mean winning her ex back or getting revenge by destroying his personal items. It’s a catchy pop song that feels a little out of place in The Anthology, and I find it a little underwhelming, but it’s still fun to sing!

Favorite Lyrics: I hear the whispers in your eyes, I’ll make you wanna think twice. You’ll find that you were never not mine.

25. Florida!!! (TTPD)

Florida!!! featuring Florence and the Machine is a song that sounds like it belongs in a Southern Gothic tale. There’s not much to say about it other than Florence absolutely nails it! Do you need to get away? Do you want to bury some regrets (or men)? Maybe get a little fucked up!? Perfect, go on to Florida! It’s one helluva drug. And this track is definitely one of the more upbeat, energetic songs of the entire album.

Favorite Lyrics: The hurricane with my name when it came, I got drunk and I dared it to wash me away. Barricaded in the bathroom with a bottle of wine, well, me and my ghosts, we had a hell of a time.

24. The Manuscript (The Anthology)

The Manuscript feels like All Too Well’s sister song. Taylor sings about her relationships with older men, how they have affected her life, both personally and professionally. It reminds me a little of You’re On Your Own, Kid, where Taylor tells a story that spans several years, eventually realizing that everything is going to be okay. All the heartache she had endured over the years somehow brought her to this point in her life – to an incredible career and a strong bond with her fans. The Manuscript is the perfect way to end The Anthology. These songs were once her story, but once she puts them out into the world, she can heal and move on… and they become someone else’s story instead.

Favorite Lyrics: The only thing that’s left is the manuscript. One last souvenir from my trip to your shores. Now and then I reread the manuscript, but the story isn’t mine anymore.

23. loml (TTPD)

This seems to be a favorite among Swifties, and I can’t blame them for that. It’s a devastating song, amplifying the heartbreak that occurs when someone promises you forever and then changes their mind. Anyone can speculate about who this song might be about, and as much as I hate to admit it, I think this is directed at Matt Healy, who Taylor seemed to be in a situationship with for over a decade (maybe longer, who knows). There are simply too many lyrics that seem to tie into some other songs on the album that we know are (most) definitely about the man. When the track listing was released, a lot of people assumed “loml” meant “love of my life”, but Taylor flips the script with a devastating end – “you’re the loss of my life”. Ooof. You deserve better, Taylor.

Favorite Lyrics: Oh, what a valiant roar. What a bland goodbye. The coward claimed he was a lion.

22. The Prophecy (The Anthology)

After so many failed high-profile relationships – and even a fairly private one that was still scrutinized – Taylor is wondering if there’s a prophecy designed to keep her alone forever. All she wants is someone who wants to be with her – no fame, no money, just her company – but he’s nowhere to be found. Is she cursed never to experience fame and love? Does she need to perform magic, or beg some cosmic force to change her fate? Taylor doesn’t back down from addressing the disappointment of never finding The One. I really do love this song, especially now, as it seems like maybe someone out there was listening, and the prophecy was indeed changed.

Favorite Lyrics: A greater woman has faith, but even statues crumble if they’re made to wait, I’m so afraid I sealed my fate, no sign of soulmates. I’m just a paperweight in shades of greige, spending my last coin so someone will tell me it’ll be okay.

21. Fortnight (TTPD)

In my opinion, Fortnight is one in a long line of disappointing first singles from Taylor’s albums. But that doesn’t mean Fortnight is a disappointment! It was a hit, and the video is gorgeous! I love hearing Post Malone’s voice, and the two harmonize wonderfully. I just wish we had more Post on the track. I think I love this song more for the bridge than anything else, and the easter eggs we get in the video. I sometimes skip some of the singles because I’ve heard them SO many times, but I haven’t gotten to that point yet with Fortnight.

Favorite Lyrics: I love you, it’s ruining my life.

20. The Tortured Poets Department

I find this song to be full of toxicity, which I believe is probably the point. Simply put – Taylor sings of a doomed romance with a pretentious a-hole. She knows he’s pretentious, but she can’t help but be attracted to him, keeping all her critical thoughts to herself. The production feels very ’80s to me, which may be why I enjoy it as much as I do. I don’t find the lyrics to be as strong as some other songs on the album, but the song can get stuck in your head quite easily.

Favorite Lyrics: But you’re in self-sabotage mode, throwing spikes down on the road, but I’ve seen this episode and still love the show.

19. I Hate It Here (The Anthology)

I was a little underwhelmed by I Hate It Here when I first heard it, but it’s grown on me over the past year. I think the current political climate in this country has made me appreciate the lyrics more than ever. Taylor dreams of leaving the world behind and disappearing into the imaginative recesses of her own mind. This song got a lot of flak when it was first released because Taylor says if she could choose a decade to live in beyond this one, she’d choose the 1830s – but “without all the racists” – which seems to be where people stopped reading the lyrics. If they really understood the song and listened, they would hear she’s talking about how nostalgia is a mind trick. It makes us think things were easier back then, when in reality, it was just as dark and difficult as it is today. It’s really a beautiful song, both lyrically and musically, which isn’t a shock, since Aaron Dessner produced it. But I think so many of us can relate to this song right now.

Favorite Lyrics: I hate it here, so I will go to secret gardens in my mind. People need a key to get to, the only one is mine.

18. thanK you aIMee (The Anthology)

While the obvious conclusion about this song is that it revisits the Kimye drama, I think the song title could be a red herring. It could be about many different people involved in tearing Taylor down during the infamous phone call drama and everything that followed. But the catalyst of Taylor being “canceled” was, of course, Kim K., and Kanye, so it makes sense that the majority of this song is directed toward them. I know people think Taylor is petty for still writing about this feud, but considering she felt so beaten down by them that she literally moved to a different country and disappeared from the public eye for a couple of years… I’d say Taylor is allowed to deal with her past however she wants, and that includes writing a song. This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things seems to be a petty song (which I love, btw), but thanK you aIMee reflects more maturely on the past and how the pain from everything that happened actually strengthened her resolve to succeed. In the end, she thanks “Aimee” for everything she did, because Taylor can admit that if all that drama and pain hadn’t happened to her, she wouldn’t be where she is now – on top of the world.

Favorite Lyrics: And maybe you’ve reframed it. And in your mind, you never beat my spirit black and blue. I don’t think you’ve changed much, and so I changed your name and any real defining clues. And one day, your kid comes home singing a song that only us two is gonna know is about you.

17. Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me (TTPD)

The production of WAOLOM is one of my favorites on the album. It’s haunting and eerie, and Taylor paints a perfect picture of a woman who terrifies the town she lives in. It’s about her success and the criticism she’s constantly subjected to, no matter what she says or does. The music industry is a harsh place to grow up in, and Taylor takes them to task, reminding them how tame she was until they got their claws into her. Surely she can’t be this talented – she must put drugs in her music to keep people listening. She’s always playing the victim. She shouldn’t be allowed to bite back. Everyone should be afraid of Taylor Swift, ladies and gentlemen!

Favorite Lyrics: ‘Cause you lured me and you hurt me and you taught me … you caged me and then you called me crazy. I am what I am ’cause you trained me. So who’s afraid of me?

16. Down Bad (TTPD)

Of course, I’m going to love any song that compares a former relationship to being abducted by aliens! Taylor experienced a momentary, but otherworldly love, only to be returned to Earth, bloodied and heartbroken. She sprinkles the lyrics with references to alien abductions—close encounters, hostile takeovers, cosmic love, experiments, and more— backed by Jack Antonoff’s synth-pop production, which often sounds like a spaceship. She’s very liberal with “fuck” as well, which I appreciate.

Favorite Lyrics: How dare you think it’s romantic Leaving me safe and stranded… ’cause fuck it, I was in love. So fuck you if I can’t have us.

15. But Daddy I Love Him (TTPD)

But Daddy I Love Him is a song that has the feel of a small town where she’s the perfect daughter who’s fallen in love with a troublemaker that everyone in town believes is Bad News. Everyone has an opinion; everyone is praying for her soul, and they will do everything they can to keep them apart, even though she loves him. The song is a thinly veiled message to her self-righteous fans – many of whom were very vocal about their disapproval while she was dating Matty Healy due to his many controversies. It’s very clear that some fans see Taylor as though she belongs to them, as though she’s a fictional character they have a right to control. But Daddy I Love Him is a reminder that this is her life and her name to do with as she pleases. If it’s a mistake, it’s her mistake to make. Sadly, some fans haven’t quite grasped the message and continue to believe they know her better than she knows herself.

Favorite Lyrics: God save the most judgmental creeps who say they want what’s best for me. Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I’ll never see.

14. Clara Bow (TTPD)

Clara Bow is a simple yet effective song. Taylor sings about the industry, and how it merely cycles through women, telling them what they want to hear to extract everything they can from them, all the while looking for the next big thing to replace them with. Stevie Nicks looked like Clara Bow… Taylor looked like Stevie Nicks in ’75… and the next big thing looks like Taylor Swift. And so it goes, on and on… this song makes me weirdly emotional, but it’s clear Taylor knows how the world works, and it’s a cautionary tale for all women, especially those in the music or movie industry.

Favorite Lyrics: “You look like Taylor Swift in this light, we’re loving it. You’ve got edge, she never did, the future’s bright, dazzling.”

13. The Bolter (The Anthology)

The Bolter is a song I feel is very underrated on the album. It’s about a young woman who tends to run whenever things in her life get a little too good. Attachment avoidance at its best! It reminds me of various lyrics alluding to Taylor’s tendency to run from things that are either too good, or start to feel smothering – “you gotta leave before you get left.” from I Did Something Bad, for one. This is another song that shows Taylor’s lyrical talent. I can see the story happening in my head as she sings, and it’s become one of my favorites over the past year.

Favorite Lyrics: All her fuckin’ lives flashed before her eyes. And she realized it feels like the time she fell through the ice, then came out alive.

12. So Long London (TTPD)

Track five. It’s fitting that her goodbye to Joe would also be a goodbye to London, where she had made her home for the six years they were together. I don’t think there are a lot of songs on this album written for Joe, because I am starting to believe Midnights was their breakup album – the relationship had been dying for a long time, and this song feels like acceptance and a hope that he will find someone that he can build a life with, while also explaining to him why she had to leave.

Favorite Lyrics: You swore that you loved me, but where were the clues? I died on the altar waiting for the proof. You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days…

11. How Did it End? (The Anthology)

Taylor’s relationships have always been under the microscope. She understands this, given how often she writes songs about them. But she’s also a person with feelings, and she’s grown accustomed to being scrutinized over the years, especially when it comes to her romantic relationships. In How Did It End?, she sings about the knowledge that as soon as the news gets out that she and her lover (Joe Alwyn, in this case) have ended things, the gossip train will leave the station and everyone will want to know every brutal detail about the breakup. They’ll disguise their curiosity with empathy and promise not to tell anyone (except all of their friends, of course). The saddest part is, she can’t tell anyone how it ended, because she doesn’t quite understand it herself. It has to be exhausting, having the world dissect her heartaches, and that comes across so vividly in this song.

Favorite Lyrics: Say it once again with feeling, how the death rattle breathing silenced as the soul was leaving. The deflation of our dreaming leaving me bereft and reeling. My beloved ghost and me, sitting in a tree D-Y-I-N-G.

10. I Can Do It With a Broken Heart (TTPD)

This song is such a banger (do people still say that!?) – Taylor wrote this song amid her historic Eras Tour, all the while going through the end of her six-year relationship with Joe Alwyn, and then dealing with the pain of being lovebombed and ghosted by Matty Healy. But she’s a true professional, and she knew she had to get through her shit to perform for hundreds of thousands of fans every weekend for nearly two years. She rarely showed how sad she was, determined to give her fans the experience they paid for. The song’s lyrics are so devastating, but the production is upbeat and happy, so you can’t help but dance while singing along to lyrics of depression and sadness. The video is one of my favorites – a behind-the-scenes look at the Eras Tour – and hopefully a precursor to a full-length Eras Tour documentary later.

Favorite Lyrics: ‘Cause I’m a real tough kid, I can handle my shit. They said, “Babe, you gotta fake it till you make it” and I did. Lights, camera, bitch smile, even when you wanna die.

09. The Alchemy (TTPD)

To me, this song coming right after The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived was a very purposeful choice. It feels like the album’s “Begin Again”. After heartbreak and uncertainty, she has found someone new, and the attraction is strong. So strong she compares it to alchemy – turning metals into gold and silver aka chemistry. With the various references to sports – touching down, trophies, teams, warming the benches, etc. – it’s assumed that this song was written for Travis Kelce, whom Taylor has now been with for over a year. She references the blokes (Joe and Matty, both of whom are British) warming the benches before she met Travis, and now she’s realizing this kind of love only happens once every few lifetimes. It all started with a friendship bracelet and a dream, and who can write that kind of romance!?

Favorite Lyrics: This happens once every few lifetimes. These chemicals hit me like white wine.

08. Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus (The Anthology)

This song snuck up on me. It wasn’t a song I sought out often when I first started listening to the album, but over time, it has become one of my favorites. When you love someone, but they choose something else over being with you (in this case, drugs), it’s hard to truly say goodbye, even when you’ve tried to move on. The imagery in Taylor’s lyrics is incredibly vivid, and you can hear the regret in her voice, especially as she realizes she has grown up and become a different person, much to the disappointment of the man who could have been the One had things been different.

Favorite Lyrics: If you want to break my cold, cold heart, just say, ‘I loved you the way that you were’, If you want to tear my world apart, just say you’ve always wondered…

07. Guilty As Sin? (TTPD)

This song refers to emotional infidelity cloaked in religious references (she also did this with Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve). She’s feeling caged in her current relationship and only seems to find pleasure in fantasies of a man she’s never actually been with – but yearns to be. If she hasn’t actually touched him, is it still cheating? The song’s production reminds me a lot of Fleetwood Mac/Steve Nicks, which is probably why it stuck out to me as one of the best on the album. I wonder how long it took some people to realize she was singing about … er, self-pleasure. It’s definitely a sexy song, and it’s not a surprise that this is a fan favorite.

Favorite Lyrics: Someone told me there’s no such thing as bad thoughts. Only your actions talk.

06. So High School (The Anthology)

If there’s any song on this album that will bring a smile to your face, it’s So High School. The guitar (thank you, Aaron Dessner!) is so reminiscent of the alternative pop songs that were so popular in the early 2000s. I always feel like I’m watching the beginning of a teen rom com from 2005 every time this song starts. Taylor compares her new romance (thank you, Travis Kelce!) to feeling as though she’s 16 again, sprinkling in various references to her own high school days (American Pie, GTA). He knows ball and she knows Aristotle. It’s a perfect match. After all of the heartache from the previous 21 songs, it’s such a nice change in terms of lyrics and composition. You can hear the happiness in her voice. I absolutely love this song, and I’m eager to hear more like it on TS12.

Favorite Lyrics: Are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me? It’s just a game, but really, I’m bettin’ on all three for us two.

05. The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived (TTPD)

Don’t let the melancholy melody fool you. This song is what the youths call a “diss track”. Wildly speculated to be about Matty Healy, Taylor delivers a brutal takedown of a man who “didn’t measure up in any measure of a man” (which I take as meaning his height, his personality and his… ahem). She feels lied to and cheated of what could have been, while still questioning whether any moment of love and adoration was actually real, or if it was all a lie. What really makes this song is the bridge – rather than a sad rumination, Taylor releases a cathartic avalanche of barely suppressed anger, and you can tell these are all the things she wished she could say and ask to the man who ghosted her. While I feel that All Too Well’s bridge is superior, this one comes very, very close to being her absolute best.

Favorite Lyrics: And in plain sight you hid, but you are what you didAnd I’ll forget you, but I’ll never forgive the smallest man who ever lived.

04. My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys (TTPD)

Taylor compares herself to a toy bought from the mall by her man – where the excitement of having something new only lasts so long before he loses interest and destroys the things that mean the most to him. It’s a romantic abandonment by a man too scared to admit he’s found the perfect woman, so instead, he self-destructs and puts her back on the shelf, stealing her heart but leaving all the broken parts behind. I love it when Taylor uses these kinds of analogies to describe relationships. There’s so much to unpack in this song, and it’s quite the earworm.

Favorite Lyrics: I’m queen of sand castles he destroys. ‘Cause I knew too much… there was danger in the heat of my touch. He saw forever, so he smashed it up.

03. Fresh Out the Slammer (TTPD)

Fresh Out The Slammer was one of the first songs to really resonate with me. Taylor leans into the spaghetti western theme of the title with the guitar intro as she sings about breaking free from a confining relationship, where she felt as though she had been jailed, subjected to gray days and silent bitterness from her partner. Now that she’s free, she’s running back to the one person who’s been waiting for her. There’s just something about the melody that really gets under my skin in the best way. I think this may be one of the most underrated tracks on the album.

Favorite Lyrics: All those nights you kept me going, swirled you into all of my poems. Now we’re at the starting line, I did my time.

02. The Black Dog (The Anthology)

For the longest time, The Black Dog was my favorite song on the entire album. A relationship has ended, and Taylor is struggling to accept that her former lover has moved on. The Black Dog is mentioned as a bar, but black dogs have also been known to be a metaphor for depression, and it’s been implied in other songs that her ex, Joe Alwyn, suffered from depression, which supposedly contributed to the decline of their relationship. I know people still speculate about who the song could be about, but I take the mention of “six weeks of breathing clean air, I still miss the smoke” to parallel Daylight from Lover, which Taylor wrote for Joe: Clearing the air, I breathed in the smoke.

Favorite Lyrics: Six weeks of breathing clean air, I still miss the smoke. Were you making fun of me with some esoteric joke? Now I want to sell my house and set fire to all my clothes. And hire a priest to come and exorcise my demons. Even if I die screaming. And I hope you hear it.

01. Peter (The Anthology)

Peter was not a song I had listed in my initial top ten last year when TTPD was released. Now I am pretty sure it’s my favorite on the album and one of my favorite songs from Taylor, period. With Aaron Dessner’s gorgeous production, reminiscent of his work on folklore, Taylor sings about a love that blossomed between two young people, only to see it end when one of them needed to grow up and find themselves before they could promise a future. She compares him to Peter Pan, and she, of course, to Wendy – the woman who waited, but they could never get the timing right, and eventually, she had to move on. I play Peter daily, and I haven’t yet grown tired of it. We all know Taylor is first and foremost a songwriter, and Peter is one of the best examples of her talent.

Favorite Lyrics: Forgive me, Peter, please know that I tried to hold on to the days when you were mine. But the woman who sits by the window has turned out the light.