Ranked: Top 20 Taylor Swift Songs: Okay, so I’ve wanted to rank my favorite Taylor Swift songs for a long time now and decided to just go for it. I had always found her music pretty catchy (from what I heard on the radio), but it wasn’t until Reputation in 2016 that I became an actual fan. Listening to her albums, it became very clear that her radio singles did not do her music justice. She’s an extremely talented songwriter, and there is a reason she’s only the fourth person (and first woman) in history to win 3 Album of the Year Grammys.
I am not ashamed to say I love her music and have become a full-fledged Swiftie. With that being said, these are my top 20 favorite Taylor Swift songs… it could change in the future, of course. Hell, the ranking would probably change daily except for my number one. This was originally a top ten, but I seriously couldn’t pare it down that much, so I added… uh, 5 more… then another 5 more. Anything less than 20 is impossible. Do you have a favorite Taylor song? Give me your rankings if you want!
20. last kiss (speak now)
Speak Now has a lot of great songs. Enchanted, Dear John, Haunted. But Last Kiss is the song I always go back to when I want something slow and sad. It’s contemplating the end of a relationship and all of the things you loved about the person who left you behind. It’s so relatable for anyone who has had their heart broken.
Favorite Lyric: So I’ll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep. And I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe.
19. cornelia street (lover)
Taylor’s ode to the apartment she rented in NYC, on Cornelia Street, where she and Joe finally became more than friends. Or that’s what I’m speculating, based on the song lyrics. It’s just a really lovely song and one I replayed a lot when I started listening to Lover. I think it’s one of the best songs on the album.
Favorite Lyric: And baby, I’m so terrified of if you ever walk away, I’d never walk Cornelia Street again.
18. don’t you (fearless, taylor’s version)
Don’t You is a Vault song featured on the release of Fearless (Taylor’s Version). Honestly? I love the vault songs more than the entirety of the original album! Mr. Perfectly Fine is a “bop” (thank you, youths), Bye Bye Baby is wonderful, and I really loved We Were Happy, and That’s When. I’m a bit “meh” on You All Over Me (I prefer Clean), but Don’t You is my favorite of the vault songs.
Favorite Lyric: You don’t know how much I feel I love you still. So why don’t you, don’t you?
17. mirrorball (folklore)
I believe Taylor said she wrote this in response to COVID, how it shut everything down, including LoverFest, but she was still trying to find ways to connect with people and her fans. I think this is such a beautiful song. Honestly, it had to grow on me as I wasn’t sure about it upon the first few listens. But I love the imagery and the self-awareness Taylor has to be a people pleaser.
Favorite Lyric: And they called off the circus, burned the disco down. When they sent home the horses and the rodeo clowns.
16. miss americana and the heartbreak prince (lover)
At first listen, you think this is just a song about high school, cheerleaders, and falling in love. But that’s one of the things I love about Taylor is she can use the most straightforward analogies to describe deeper issues. This song is about politics and the fallout from the 2016 election, not to mention the reaction to Taylor finally becoming more vocal about politics and upsetting her ultra-conservative fans. It is a catchy song and one of my favorites from Lover.
Favorite Lyric: American glory faded before me, now I’m feeling hopeless, ripped up my prom dress running through rose thorns. I saw the scoreboard and ran for my life.
15. this is me trying (folklore)
This song is about the pressure people put on us and the pressure we put on ourselves. Failure and addiction and the struggle to do better. This song stuck out when I was listening to folklore for the first time, and it’s become one of my favorites on the album.
Favorite Lyric: They told me all of my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all my potential.
14. i almost do (red – taylor’s version)
This is another song reminiscing about a former relationship… one that makes you occasionally doubt whether or not ending things was the right decision. There’s an urge to call that person, to try again maybe, even when you know it won’t work. Red is not my favorite album, but it does have some beautiful gems, like this song. This album straddles that line between country and pop, so you still get some of Taylor’s “twang” in this song and she sounds fantastic.
Favorite Lyric: I bet you think I either moved on or hate you ’cause each time you reach out there’s no reply. I bet it never ever occurred to you that I can’t say “Hello” to you and risk another goodbye.
13. cruel summer (lover)
Why Taylor decided to release Me! as the lead single from Lover and not this song will forever baffle me. Or even the second single. This song could have come out right before the summer of 2019 and been THE song of the year. The lyrics, the melody… the bridge. This is pop perfection, and it did not get the attention it deserved from Taylor. I know there were rumors that she was going to release this as a single before Loverfest, but then Covid happened and shut everything down… and then we got Folklore and Evermore so I can’t complain too much. But dang, Cruel Summer is it.
Favorite Lyric: And I scream, “for whatever it’s worth I love you, ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?”
12. getaway car (reputation)
Another one of Taylor’s songs that would have been perfect as a lead single. Or a single in general. Can you imagine the music video to this song? Taylor uses a Bonnie and Clyde-esque analogy to describe a doomed relationship, one she used to flee from another (supposedly, this song is about her brief fling with Tom Hiddleston after leaving Calvin Harris) and her regret over how things went. I loved Delicate as a single, but I feel like Getaway Car could have been huge… certainly more so than Ready for It… and Look What You Made Me Do (although the music video for LWYMMD is still amazing). It’s one of my favorite songs from Reputation.
Favorite Lyric: It was the great escape, the prison break, the light of freedom on my face.
11. tolerate it (evermore)
Taylor’s track 5 songs are known for being emotional or having a deeper meaning for Taylor. It’s always a very vulnerable song. All Too Well, Delicate, my tears ricochet, The Archer, etc. But honestly… I find tolerate it to be the one that just takes a knife to the heart… several times.
A song about a relationship or marriage where one continues to love passionately while the other has basically checked out. I don’t even know that it has to be a romantic relationship… I feel like anyone who has given their everything to someone else and received very little in return could relate to this song. The lyrics are so brutally sad, and it has one of my favorite bridges in Taylor’s discography.
Favorite Lyric: TIE – I made you my temple, my mural, my sky, now I’m begging for footnotes in the story of your life. /// But what would you do if I, I break free and leave us in ruins. Took this dagger in me and removed it. Gain the weight of you then lose it. Believe me, I could do it.
10. wonderland (1989)
1989 has really grown on me as an album, and when I listened to it from beginning to end, it really was her most cohesive album to date. Wonderland was a song that ended up on the deluxe edition and I sincerely have no idea why this song didn’t end up on the original tracklist. Take away Bad Blood and replace it with Wonderland (or New Romantics) and there is not one bad song on it. Sadly, we had to suffer through Bad Blood. 😀 But Wonderland is a gem.
Favorite Lyric: So we went on our way, too in love to think straight, all alone, or so it seemed. But there were strangers watching and whispers turned to talking, and talking turned to screams.
09. willow (evermore)
folklore was a surprise. evermore was a shock. Releasing her 9th studio album 4 months after her 8th was something else and Taylor has called evermore the sister album to folklore. They’re both so good and so different from her previous music. I feel like Taylor really found her sound vocally with those two albums.
Her talent as a songwriter shines now that she’s telling fictional stories instead of just songs about her life – yes, there are still autobiographical songs on the two albums, but there are no reasons to wonder which ex or nemesis she’s writing about anymore. willow is a magical song, one that reminds me of winter and fire, and I just adore it. There are also a bazillion remixes of the song, but honestly, I like them all.
Favorite Lyric: Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind.
08. call it what you want (reputation)
A lot of people see Reputation as being Taylor’s dark era, and okay sure, in a way it was. The dark aesthetics revolved around snakes (thanks Kim K.!), after all. But Taylor took the drama and reworked it to her advantage, creating a persona that struck back at her critics. The LWYMMD song and video took shots at plenty of people, and I Did Something Bad feels like Blank Space’s older, gothic sister. But honestly, if you listen to Reputation, you’ll find it’s less about writing revenge tracks and more about Taylor’s journey from being “canceled” to finding love.
Call It What You Want is a dreamy song, reflecting on a love that helped her weather the storm. It’s clear she doesn’t care about what happened in the past anymore and she doesn’t care what the media is going to say about her love life now. I love the way she experimented with the music and her vocals in this song and I could honestly listen to this song daily.
Favorite Lyric: I’m laughing with my lover, making forts under covers, trust him like a brother, yeah, you know I did one thing right. Starry eyes sparkin’ up my darkest night.
07. gold rush (evermore)
I absolutely adore the fact that Taylor used both Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff to produce folklore and evermore. They have such different styles and yet they merged so well together. Even so, you can instantly hear a song and know it’s an Antonoff-produced track. Gold Rush was one of those moments for me, as soon as the beat kicked in. The track is definitely a more mature version of Gorgeous from Reputation as Taylor thinks about the beauty of a potential lover and what life could be like for them if she ever won his heart… despite the fact that there are plenty of people out there who want him too.
Favorite Lyric: I don’t like that falling feels like flying ’til the bone crush.
06. exile – feat. bon iver (folklore)
This song was the first song on folklore to give me literal chills. Taylor has had a few duets in the past but her voice has never sounded better than when it did with Justin Vernon from Bon Iver. It’s a beautiful song about the aftermath of a doomed relationship where the two were not on the same page. Justin and Taylor are singing to one another as though in a disagreement – “You never gave a warning sign”… “I gave so many signs.”
Their live duet on the Long Pond Sessions is even better than the album version, I think. I think Taylor really found some kindred spirits in Justin and Aaron and I truly believe their influence on Taylor has improved her music so much.
Favorite Lyric: I can see you starin’, honey, like he’s just your understudy. Like you’d get your knuckles bloody for me.
05. all too well – 10 minute version (red, taylor’s version)
All Too Well is considered to be Taylor’s best song by a lot of fans. It’s famously about Jake Gyllenhaal and reminisces about their relationship. Where We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together is a more fast-paced, upbeat song about the breakup, full of irritable frustration and “boy, bye.” vibes, All Too Well tells the other side of ending a relationship: something felt right and was full of promise and it simply didn’t work out, leaving behind hurt feelings and regret.
While I don’t consider it my favorite song by Taylor, I think it’s still the best song on Red and has some of her best lyrics. It also has one of her best bridges. The 10 Minute version packs more of an emotional punch for me than the original, as Taylor paints a deeper picture of just how bruising a relationship can be. The vocal layering and the gorgeous outro make this song one of Taylor’s most captivating and it now firmly sits in my top 5 Taylor songs of all time.
Favorite Lyric: And you call me up again just to break me like a promise. So casually cruel in the name of being honest.
04. ’tis the damn season (evermore)
So I “claimed” this song prior to the album coming out just because I love the Christmas season and with a title like ‘tis the damn season, I just knew it had to be something related to the holiday. And yes, it has to do with Christmas, and someone coming home for the holiday and running into an old flame. This person is trying to be someone outside of their small town, which meant walking away from someone who was potentially the love of their life. It easily became my favorite song on evermore and will no doubt end up on my holiday playlists next to Christmas Tree Farm. 😉
Favorite Lyric: It’s the kind of cold, fogs up windshield glass but I felt it when I passed you.
03. the 1 (folklore)
Another song about that lingering question… “what if”. What a brilliant song to open folklore. “I’m doing good, I’m on some new shit.” Yes, Taylor. YES. This song set the stage for the masterpiece to follow (yes, I called folklore a masterpiece). I don’t think anyone who listens to this song wouldn’t think of that one person who might have been The One if things had played out differently. It’s not even a melancholy feeling, just one of those wistful thoughts when you take a moment to look at where your life ended up.
Favorite Lyric: I persist and resist the temptation to ask you if one thing had been different, would everything be different today?
02. this love (taylor’s version) (1989)
This Love is a song that I feel is so underrated, especially given that it’s on 1989! I listened to this song on repeat when I first heard it. It’s a gorgeous song, lyrically and musically. A love that you know you have to let go of and, of course, if it’s meant to be, they’ll always come back. There’s not a huge production or anything, but it’s so effective and showcases Taylor’s voice beautifully.
Favorite Lyric: When you’re young you just run, but you come back to what you need.
01. august (folklore)
august. Oh, august. I still get goosebumps when I hear this song. One song of the love triangle (cardigan and betty being the others), this song is perfection in every sense. The lyrics, the vocals, and the music. Every time I listen to this song, something new reveals itself to me. The layering of the music sends you on a journey. I’m listening to it right now as I write this and I don’t think I’ve stopped dancing. This is one of Jack Antonoff’s favorite songs on folklore and I am right there with him. I can’t get enough of august. I am just hoping I can hear this live someday (LIVE live, not just on the Long Pond Sessions).
Favorite Lyric: Back when we were still changing for the better, wanting was enough, for me, it was enough.
Honorable Mentions: champagne problems (evermore), Daylight (Lover), Clean (1989), So It Goes… (Reputation), Mr. Perfectly Fine (Fearless – TV), cardigan (folklore)
