Taylor Swift Albums Ranked, According to Cavelero Students

     Taylor Swift is one of the most iconic musicians and superstars of this generation, as well as a musical prodigy. She has many fans and listeners all over the world, and she is a strong role model for a massive amount of girls and young women. She is universally recognisable, commonly known, and there’s even a title for her fans, who call themselves, “Swifties.” This is most likely because she writes her own catchy melodies that suck people in within the first two seconds, and she creates relatable lyrics that practically everyone can identify with or at least the idea of. There’s literally a Taylor song for everyone and every mood, even if you think you dislike her music or you feel like you’re in an “odd” mood.

     At Cavelero, 32 students were asked if they were fans of Taylor Swift. 26 of them, a hefty majority of them, were indeed huge fans of her. They were asked to state their favorite, or top two, Taylor albums, and then which one was their least favorite or one that could use improvement.

#10: Evermore

     Released December 11, 2020, Evermore is Taylor Swift’s ninth album, labeled under “Republic Records”. Evermore is known for the songs “Willow”, “Coney Island”, and “No Body, No Crime”. Evermore has a more folk-like and indie sound, and it’s definitely a more soft and acoustic album. When students were asked why they disliked the album the most, most of their responses were that it was too “bland”, “too slow”, and that it lacked musical dynamic and that it was simply “too quiet.” 

#9: The Taylor Swift Album

     Released on October 24, 2006, Taylor Swift is her debut album, born under “Big Machine Records”. It’s known for the songs “Teardrops on my Guitar”, “Our Song”, and “Tim McGraw”. It’s known for having a sweet and innocent country sound, and it’s liked for its lyrics being so relatable to, especially, young adolescent women. The thing that most of the students said they disliked was because it was “old”, and “too country, not enough variety between its songs.” However, Sadie Barrett, a student of Cavelero, says that the album is “perfect” because it has “a little bit of everything.” 

#8: Fearless

     Released under “Big Machine Records”, Fearless was released on November 11, 2008, and it was Taylor’s second album. The songs this album is known for are “Love Story”, “You Belong With Me”, “White Horse”, “Fifteen”, and “Fearless”. It has a country-pop sound, and gives a vulnerable-yet-fearless spirit, like falling in love with someone who’s heart belongs to someone else or, like loving someone without caring what people think. Something student’s dislike about the album is that, as it has some of their most favorite songs, it has some songs they “hate” because the music is too “tiring.” They also say that it is good because some of the songs (referring to “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me”) have a “catchy melody” and lyrics that are “relatable beyond explanation.” They also said that it has a sort of “peppyness” and “sweet and open-hearted” energy. One of the students claimed that it was their favorite album, and one another said it was the worst in their opinion.

#7: Red

     Taylor’s fourth album released on October 22, 2012 under “Big Machine Records”, hits number seven on the list, according to the Cavelero students. Red is known for its songs, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”, “Trouble”, “All Too Well”, and “Red”. This album perfectly captures all the feelings of anger, envy, confusion, and love that is blended together in toxic relationships– or even just life in general. People don’t like this album because it is “too different” and made a “rapid” change from the first of her albums that came before this. However, people said that it was their favorite because it is utterly “relatable”, that it “ captures the feeling of life and love and toxic relationships.” One student even said that it made them feel nostalgic and made them “think of when they were little.” One person voted that it was their top favorite album, while two people said it was their least favorite.

#6: folklore

      Released under “Republic Records”, folklore was released July 24, 2020, and is Taylor’s eighth album. Folklore is known for its softer, quiet, intricate sounds and it is definitely more of a relaxing album of hers, and is a sound-a-like of her album, Evermore, which was released afterward only four months later. The songs it’s known for are “Cardigan”, “August”, and “Mirrorball”.  The student’s disliked the album because, like Evermore, it’s too “quiet” and “slow.” A student also claimed the songs in it were “too long.” Students enjoyed this album because of its “chill vibe,” and one person specifically likes the style of the bridges of the songs featured in this album. This album, according to the Taylor Swift Wiki Fandom, is the “masterpiece” of the coronavirus quarantine period. Three people said it was their favorite, and one person said it was their least favorite.

#5: Midnights

     As Taylor’s tenth and most recent album, released October 21, 2022 under “Republic Records,” Midnights hits fifth place on the list. The most recognised songs on Midnights are “Lavender Haze”, “Anti-Hero”, “Bejeweled”, “Karma”, and “You’re On Your Own, Kid”. Midnights gives off a chill-pop nature, and the title truly fits how the album could be described. You could listen to it during a sunny day, but it definitely wouldn’t feel as great as listening to it at midnight, during the midnight rain. This is definitely an album you could listen to at the end of a long day without feeling overwhelmed, and to evaporate to the music while falling asleep. Something people dislike about Midnights is that “all of the songs pretty much sound the same.” They said that it not only sounds the same, but a lot of the songs have similar themes, and they could just use a little switch-up. Something that people liked about Midnights is the musical instrumentals of the music featured, especially the bridges of the songs. They also enjoyed that the songs feel quite relatable. Three people voted that this album was their favorite, and one person said that it’s their least favorite.

#4: 1989

     Released on October 27, 2014, Taylor’s fifth album, 1989. 1989 is known for its songs, “Shake it off”, “Blank Space”, “Style”, “Bad Blood,” “Wildest Dreams”, and “All You Had to Do Was Stay”. 1989 is Taylor’s album where she makes a transition into pop from her usual country sound, and she took a lot of inspiration from pop music in the late 1980’s. Something some people dislike about 1989 is that it is “basic” and it just seems that it sounds too similar to other pop albums from around the mid-2010’s. People really enjoy that the album was written by Harry Styles, and they say that it truly is a very “catchy” and “bright” album. Five people said that 1989 is their favorite album, and two people said that it’s their least favorite album.

#3: Speak Now

     Released under “Big Machine Records” on October 25, 2010, Taylor’s third album hits third place on the ranking. Speak Now is known for its songs “Enchanted”, “Mine”, “Sparks Fly”, and “Back To December”. Speak Now is one of Taylor’s last albums that still carries her sweet and innocent, soft country sound. Speak Now also has a feel of soft-rock and pop-punk in a few songs too. Very few people had bad things to say about this album, and only one person said that it was “strongly boring, and too overly-hopeful.” Most people really like this album, and they love this album because it is so happy and graceful, and feels like a fairytale, but in song form. Rowan Devine, another student of Cavelero, said that it captures Taylor feeling “ruthless,” specifically in “Better Than Revenge”. Five people said that Speak Now is their favorite album, and one person said that is their least favorite. 

#2: Lover

     Lover, Taylors seventh album, was released August 23, 2019 under Republic Records and the Universal Music Group. Lover is known for its songs “You Need To Calm Down”, “Cruel Summer”, “Lover”, and “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince”. It gives a more pop aesthetic, and jumps between more hardcore pop to softer and relaxing sounds. Some people disliked the album because it’s too “girly”, as one person said. However, this album is a masterpiece because it does celebrate feminine nature, and the fact that Taylor Swift is in fact a feminist, so it should be “girly”. People love this album because the music is so relatable and upbeat. It has a theme that it’s okay to fall in love fearlessly, and people shouldn’t judge it and just let the people be happy. They also enjoy the instrumentals that came with this album, and how happy, but also chill it sounds. Five people voted that Lover is the best Taylor Swift album, and one person voted that it is the worst album.

#1: Reputation

     Taking the spot of Cavelero’s most favorite Taylor album, Reputation hits hard on first place. Released on November 10, 2017, under “Big Machine Records”, Reputation is her sixth album. It’s known for the songs “Look What You Made Me Do”, “Gorgeous”, “So It Goes…”, and “Getaway Car”. This album is known for having a more hardcore pop genre, and comes through as a more a rage based album about coming clean and getting revenge against someone who’s started unnecessary drama. People disliked the album because it’s foundation was based on anger and negative emotions, so it isn’t always the most comfortable thing to listen to for some people. People do love it because it’s such a relatable album, and feels so good to blast and scream to the music when someone tries to start up drama with you. Reputation is the perfect album to put a smile on your face when you’re mad because people are starting rumors, to think about when karma comes back at them. Someone describes this album as her “baddie era” and they enjoyed it because they could relate to it as Taylor gains a “new life” and gets to start “fresh.” Eight people marked it as their favorite album, and literally no one said that it was bad or their least favorite.

     Rating Taylor Swift albums can be a pretty controversial topic, and there will definitely be disagreements between each individual fan of hers when it comes to ranking. I even disagree with the rank and how everyone liked each album, but it’s always going to be a different story for each fan of each musical artist. Taylor Swift will always be a super-icon that will always be honored in the musical industry and hopefully we look back and recognise her like we do The Beatles or Fleetwood Mac in the future.