61. Never Grow Up - Speak Now (2010)
It may lack subtlety but I think that Never Grow Up makes up for it with an abundance of sincerity. There's also some interesting projection of insecurity onto future generations going on here, which is pretty odd considering Taylor Swift couldn't drink legally when it was released.
60. Cold As You - Taylor Swift (2006)
Here we get a display of some of the best writing that Taylor did this early in her career. Unfortunately the relatively generic sound and mediocre (by Taylor' standards) vocals stop it from being a great song.
59. Breathe - Fearless (2008)
If this song managed to land the tone a little closer to it's theme of hardship and post-breakup confusion, I think it could have been something very special. Instead, we get a decent song with a great idea behind it. I enjoy it a lot though! The repetition in the chorus matches the mantra-like status of Taylor's thought like process.
58. Last Kiss - Speak Now (2010)
When I try to listen in a vacuum I fins myself really enjoying this song. That said, I can't help but compare it to similar songs from Red like All To Well, which serve a similar function but much better. This placement could be low, but this is where it sits and we have to deal with it.
57. The Best Day - Fearless (2008)
Even though it's first moments make it sound like a Jimmy Buffet song, I still like The Best Day. I did a post about it recently, and I just can't ignore how sweet and unique this track is. It still has one of my favorite music videos for any Taylor Swift song, and that is not a low bar.
*deadpan* "Spiders."
56. Treacherous - Red (2012)
You may wonder how a song with such a strong start can be this low, but I have a good reason. Treacherous has a very average length at four minutes, but it's slow pace means it has to be a lot more dense with information delivery to not get old, or have such a profound idea that the audiences mind can do the heavy lifting. Unfortunately it doesn't quite fit either of these descriptions, so I have a hard time putting it above any of the remaining songs. I will say that it works very well as an early song on the album; it does a great job revealing the theme while making you want more.
55. White Horse - Fearless (2008)
Points for being a fantastic country adjacent song! A more modern listen of this song could completely neglect genre in an analysis, which really shows early development of a musical style that would persist for the rest of Taylor's career, through to the present. I see this as an exceedingly competent execution of a pretty average Taylor Swift song, so it earns a very average spot overall.
54. So It Goes... - Reputation (2017)
The opening lines of this song can't help but make me think of this gif. But yeah, overall I see this song as a worse version of Don't Blame Me, which I think is a great song. However, it does a great job of building tension and has a very well developed theme. There's a lot to get from multiple listens in this song.
53. The Last Time - Red (2012)
It's different from all of Taylor's other songs, but it completely saps away everything that distinguishes Taylor as an artist. A great collaboration will accentuate both artists strengths, which is why I have this song as low as it is. But it still beat out a lot of good songs, mostly because of an overall strong vocal performance from both Taylor and... oh shoot I forgot his name. Garth?
52. Call It What You Want - Reputation (2017)
The writing and vocals in this song are pretty weak in my opinion, but I really like the music and sound effects. I don't mean that it's good in a vacuum, I just think that it plays extremely well to an otherwise average song. It also gets a lot stronger towards the end. This is true for a lot of Taylor Swift songs, making me think that it's pretty difficult to begin a song that isn't going to be high energy. But hey, what do I know.
51. How You Get The Girl - 1989 (2014)
For a narrative song, this is pretty average. It's miles ahead of Speak Now, but miles behind You Belong With Me. It's a very average song put together pretty well, with some pretty nifty musical tricks going on, and very good matching to the beat. It is also a great example of how Taylor writes a lot of her songs.
50. I Did Something Bad - Reputation (2017)
A great song with a pretty weak chorus. That's pretty weird from Taylor; it's usually the other way around if anything. The weaker hook is something that's more common from Reputation though, which is the reason you don't see as many of those songs on the radio, save a select couple.
49. Back To December - Speak Now (2010)
I've mentioned before how this song is notable because of how rarely Taylor apologizes. It also adds a lot of nuance to her feelings. That said, I can't think of anything about this song that really stands out. I do really like the music video, which is similar to Style's video, but a little better. Very Forever & Always with that indoors snow.
48. I Wish You Would - 1989 (2014)
Groovy! Despite being a few songs early, I see this song as roughly "dead center" in terms of quality. It's constructed well, has good vocals, good music, good themes, and average synthesis.
47. Better Than Revenge - Speak Now (2010)
I can admit that this song is about 20 spots too high, but I can't help how much I love it. It's actually a good performance vocally, well written, and has a theme that actually utilizes Speak Now's rock leanings in an appropriate way. It's both dumb and dumb genius. It's been been my guilty pleasure Taylor Swift song for the last three months, and I hope it is for many more. Here's the post for this song if you want to read more of what I have to say.
46. Should've Said No - Taylor Swift (2006)
Powerful, great utilization of the country music genre. Bad start, but unlike some other songs in this tier it doesn't take two minutes to reach the good parts. Once that chorus hits, it's a freaking jam.
That is the last of the "good" songs, now let's move on to the "very good" songs. All of these songs have some pretty serious strengths, but are either not exceptional enough to move up any more, or have one or two glaring weaknesses. A playlist from here up is rock solid though, you can take my word on that one.
45. State of Grace - Red (2012)
Some May see this as criminally low, but I see State of Grace as an excellent totem of it's album as a whole. The theme is very strong, it's very well written, but the music and tone are just too uniform for a top tier storytelling experience. But make no mistake: this song is quite good! It's decently long, but never really feels like it's dragging, which I very much appreciate.
44. All You Had To Do Was Stay - 1989 (2014)
This may sound dumb, but I really enjoy the way this song sounds, aside from the high pitched "stay". If it's your jam that's fine, it's just really not my thing. Overall though, the design of this song is fantastic, even though it feels a little repetitive at times.
43. King Of My Heart - Reputation (2017)
Getting a big sounding song right is difficult for Taylor, and this song hits the mark well. I personally wish it had gone bigger, but maybe that's just me. Between it's excellent pacing and writing, this song adds a strong notch to it's album's belt.
42. Fearless - Fearless (2008)
A genuinely good song, and a fantastic start to the album that shares it's name. I even came at this song, questioning it's choice of title and spoiler: I lost.
41. Holy Ground - Red (2012)
Excellent writing, and the music even matches the themes it goes for! I'm a little meh on the vocals, but they don't drag it down or anything. It's fast paced, and as fun as you could reasonably expect. Nothing exceptionally special, but darling it was good.
40. Begin Again - Red (2012)
A narrative song done right, and I've said it before. There's more to this song than the story it goes for: it's actually trying to assure the audience that no breakup is too large to get over, even if it feels that way for a long time. I'm just glad to see an example of direct lyrics that have more meaning behind them; that's something you don't see that often, even in Red's best songs.
39. Hey Stephen - Fearless (2008)
I can't get over how this song overflows with charm. It thinks it's just so cute and it really isn't wrong. The music drags a teeny bit, but there are enough flourishes added in to keep it from being a significant problem. I could give you fifty reasons why this song is worth listening to, but instead I'll just point you to this post of mine.
38. Style - 1989 (2014)
If I'm not mistaken, this is the lowest that one of Taylor's big hits appears on this list. I love it's sleek style, something I elaborated on here. I do think it ends up falling a little flat thematically, and we're starting to get high enough on this list to make that a problem.
37. Look What You Made Me Do - Reputation (2017)
Yes, here it is. I'm not sure anyone will agree with this placement, but hear me out. Like I said in the post about this song, I love most of this song. I can't stand the chorus, but I eventually decided that one huge weakness could only drag it down so far. Plus the lyric video is so dandy!
36. Starlight - Red (2012)
Oh my, what a marvelous tune! It's like Holy Ground, but instead of an actual theme it just sounds way better. It doesn't drag for a second and has great writing despite it's strange origin story.
35. The Way I Loved You - Fearless (2008)
I don't know if this track deserves the praise I give it, but I just can't help it! I am totally in love with the general design, especially the strategic way that the sound transitions to something completely chaotic. I have a crazy theory that this could have been an even better song if it was put on Speak Now, but unfortunately I don't have time for that now. Also, this was the song that warmed me up to Fearless as an album, so I will always remember it fondly for that.
34. ...Ready For It - Reputation (2017)
I think the music video might've turned a lot of people off to this song, but it's really pretty good! There are some shifts in tone that you don't see much and are somewhat unwarranted, but it still manages to be a completely cohesive song! If you think of it as rapping then you;ll be disappointed, so don't do that, for your own good.
33. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Red (2012)
Never furrget the furries. This song is a complete jam, but has little value outside of it's undeniable catchiness. But don't underestimate the power of the catchy single! Taylor really flexes her hook writing skills here; I don't know anyone who wouldn't sing along to this song.
32. I Know Places - 1989 (2014)
Look, a song from Reputation time traveled to the year 2014! Haha but seriously this song is "ahead" of it's time. Other than it maybe being about pirates, I don't really have a ton to say here other than this song is slightly above average in every regard. There are some very neat bass notes in the background, pay attention to those and you'll have a good time.
31. Picture To Burn - Taylor Swift (2006)
Hell yeah! Who in their right minds wouldn't like this song? Unfortunately it's pretty short and doesn't have a real thesis so I can't justify putting it any higher, but from here on out every song is more than good: They're grrrrreat!
Oh, screw you Tony! But that does indeed put an end to the "very good" songs, so here are the honorable mentions from non-album sources (movies, deluxe albums, etc).
Good:
Today Was a Fairytale
Eyes Open
The Other Side of the Door
Superman
If This Was a Movie
Girl at Home
New Romantics (yes, really)
Very Good:
I'd Lie
I Heart ?
Safe and Sound
Ours
Crazier
Come Back...Be Here
I'm sure no one will complain about any of that. Anyways, I'm sure you're all as tired as I am after all that, so let's end it here and pick up again tomorrow.
See you tomorrow,
-C
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