Our beloved Taylor Swift has finally released 1989 (Taylor’s Version). We've all been waiting for this one for a LONG time. This is the fourth album she has re-recorded of the six previously owned by Big Machine Records.
Tay currently holds records for most Billboard Music Award wins for a female artist (29), most Teen Choice Awards wins (26) for a solo artist and most iHeartRadio Music Awards wins (19) for a solo artist. Yep, she’s clearly a force to be reckoned with.
Tay is unapologetic, fearless, talented, funny, loyal, kind and the queen of reinvention. The eras! The easter-eggs! The clapbacks! The performances! The friendships! The tours! The outfits! There isn’t a star out there like her, and we are forever grateful she has graced the world with her talent.
At GLAMOUR, we are die-hard Swifties, so we wanted to pay homage to her by ranking the best (and worst-but-not-really-as-they’re-all-great) songs she’s ever created, according to our very humble but well-researched opinion.
She isn't ageing like fine wine. She's 33.
Every fan has a different list, and I’m sure some of you will venomously disagree with ours – but that’s the beauty of Swift, in her repertoire there’s something for everyone but nothing we can all 100% agree on – because every lyric shows off a different kind of genius; a different heart string that’s pulled; a different hidden meaning to uncover.
So in honour of Taylor Swift's latest release, we're counting down her all-time best and err, less-than-best songs.
10. Should've Said No, Taylor Swift
Naturally, we had to include a bop from Taylor's first album, and Should've Said No really encapsulates the very best from her debut. From the country-inspired riff to the accusatory lyrics, this song manages to channel all the residual anger from our failed relationships over the years into a cathartic karaoke sesh.
9. Cardigan, Folklore
Last Christmas, the second track on Taylor's eighth studio album had us all buying cosy cardigans to huddle up and feel sad in. Its undoubtedly one of the best tracks on folklore, which cemented Taylor's status as the queen of #SadGirlAutumn. The line “I knew you'd miss me once the thrill expired,” practically haunts us. As for Peter losing Wendy? Don't even go there.
8. The Man, Lover
I know, I know: The Man practically exudes #GirlBoss feminism. Except no, actually, it doesn't. If The Killers and Aloe Blacc can sing about being ‘The Man’, then why can't Taylor? The line “And they would toast to me, oh / Let the players play / I'd be just like Leo / In Saint-Tropez” may be tongue-in-cheek but it's also a pretty astute observation. It's very uncomfortable looking back on how Taylor was slut-shamed by the press as a teenager, and it's frankly so powerful that she's able to reflect on this period AND create a certified bop out of it.
There really is nothing as powerful as the support from your pals.
7. You Belong With Me, Fearless
It's tempting to dismiss You Belong With Me as the original ‘pick me' girl anthem. After all, it sees Taylor pitting herself against a romantic rival with lyrics like, “She wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts, she's cheerleader captain and I'm on the bleachers.” For this reason, you may think it deserves a spot on the ‘Worst’ list, but it's important to remember we were all ‘pick me’ girls once.
When the original version of this song was released in 2008, it felt like Taylor was very much vindicating us in our teenage battles to triumph against the ‘popular’ girls. Meanwhile, Taylor's version of the song (released April 2021) sees her return to the subject matter with maturity, highlighting her ongoing growth as an artist.
6. Clean, 1989
Clean has always felt like a secret gem in Taylor’s discography, a song well-loved but often overlooked. Her voice is crisp and precise, the melody simple, catchy-but-not-too-catchy. For us, it’s a perfect storm of all her best parts, but without screaming it from the rooftops.
The lyrics "When I was drowning, that's when I could finally breathe / And by morning / Gone was any trace of you / I think I am finally clean,’ are perfection.
5. Anti-Hero, Midnights
This had to be in the top 5. You can't make the lyric “sexy baby” work and not be congratulated for it. Anti-Hero feels like a coming together of eras, with the energy of Reputation but the lyricism of Folklore. Chloe personally wore a 'It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me' t-shirt to a Swifty club-night recently.
4. Speak Now, Speak Now
We love ‘Speak Now’ Taylor. She was young, had some maturing to do, but my god she was ballsy. She knew who she was, what she deserved and could already tell a feature-film worthy story in just over three minutes: "I am not the kind of girl who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion / But you are not the kind of boy / Who should be marrying the wrong girl."
Taylor's version of Speak Now has a maturity we love, and it really took this up a notch.
3. Champagne Problems, Evermore
We're 'Evermore' girls over here. There! We said it! Yes, ‘Red' will always have a nostalgic place in our hearts. But if we're talking musical, lyrical, storytelling brilliance? It has to be 'Evermore'. It’s a Sad Girl anthem and that’s exactly what I ordered from Blondie. “Your heart was glass, I dropped it. Champagne problems,” INJECT IT!
2. Delicate, Reputation
Ahh, Taylor's ‘Reputation’ era. What a time to be alive. Delicate is a smooth, husky, whispering song. It’s, quite literally, delicate. But as always with Tay, it sucker punches you right in the heart. And it's just so quintessentially Taylor – a song about trying to play it cool, being the chill girl, whilst simultaneously being the opposite – by asking over and over ‘isn’t it? Isn’t it? Isn’t it?’ and admitting “I pretend you're mine all the damn time.” Mood.
1. All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor's Version)
In what will come as a surprise to precisely no one, we’re giving All Too Well the number one spot. Given that it’s the second most googled song of 2021 in the US (having only been released on the 12th of November) and the short film has an epic 52 million views on YouTube, we’d guess a lot of people agree with us.
All Too Well had been a fan-fave long before it became Taylor's version, but the new 10-minute recording has catapulted it into something else entirely. Taylor knew how special the song was to her fans, and gave us the most sentimental and special version we could have only dreamed of. We think it deserves the No.1 spot simply because of this genius lyric: “I'll get older but your lovers stay my age”.
Jake, tell us where the bloody scarf is already!
10. I Knew You Were Trouble, Red
This song started life as a veritable banger. Sadly, only a few short weeks into its existence it was hijacked by a screaming goat, creating a farmyard-pop hybrid that literally no one asked for. Don't know what we're on about? Well, aren't you The Lucky One?
9. I Forgot That You Existed, Lover
I wish I’d forgotten that this song existed. We kid, it’s not that bad – for starters, it features the Very Good lyric “in my feelings more than Drake,” but it certainly isn’t Taylor's best work. It’s more like a jingle, and it isn’t what we come to Tay for. We don’t want indifference! We want her to go into HEAVY DETAIL. Thank yew.
8. …Ready For It?, Reputation
Nothing can stop us getting out of the shower to press ‘skip’ each time it comes on. From the overbearing bass hanging over the entire song to the nonsensical lyrics ("I see nothing better, I keep him forever / Like a vendetta-ta"). Also, we didn't like the rap. Is this what getting old feels like?
7. Anything related to the Cats soundtrack
We were shocked when even Taylor couldn’t make us enjoy this film. It was truly as awful as everyone said – and her songs 'Beautiful Ghosts’ and ‘"Macavity’ were far from purrfect.
6. Out Of The Woods, 1989
OK, this is a reach but the chorus is literally just “Are we out of the woods yet? / Are we out of the woods yet? / Are we out of the woods yet?" all in one breath. Not only does this make it harder to sing along to, it also gets old very quickly. Skip.
NB: Chloe, one of our co-authors for this ranking, actually would have put this in her top 20. But this list is about compromise!
There is an unmatched camaraderie among Swifties, and as a result, the cultural impact of this tour has far transcended selling out a few arenas.
5. Two Is Better Than One ft. Taylor Swift, Love Drunk, Boys Like Girls
Does a collaboration count? We think it has to, because her feature on Boys Like Girls’s song was shudder-worthy. Sometimes two is not better than one: this is an offer Taylor should have firmly turned down.
4. ME! ft. Brendon Urie, Lover
A song with this much build-up was never going to stand the test of time. In fact, many fans were even disappointed when it came out. Case in point: Brendan Urie's line “I will never bore you ba-eh-beh [baby]” reminded us of that time Pete and Dawn renewed their vows in Gavin and Stacy: "Lights will gu-ii-ii-de you home" etc. The video did a great job of marking Taylor's transition from her ‘Reputation’ era into her 'Lover' days, but as for the song itself? Nah.
3. Bad Blood, 1989
OK, so *a lot* of people will disagree with us on this one, but we find Bad Blood...meh? “Cause baby now we got bad blood / You know it used to be mad love” is a clunky chorus that lacks Taylor's usual nuance. The music video was iconic, starring everyone from Gigi to Cindy to Cara, and the song is the perfect accompaniment to an in-your-face creation like this, but in terms of good listening? It’s gotta go on the worst list.
2. Shake It Off, 1989
Shake It Off definitely served its purpose as a comeback tune but TBH, we didn't love it (even if we said we did at the time). The line “To the fella over there with the hella cool hair” is (almost) unforgivable when you consider what Taylor is capable of lyrically. That being said, we'll still charge to the dance floor whenever it comes on. That's her power, right there.
1. Look What You Made Me Do, Reputation
As much as we love Zombie-Taylor (watch the vid), the rhythm of Look What You Made Me Do feels stilted and slightly irritating. While the song perks up for the bridge “Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time / I got a list of names, and yours is in red, underlined”, it plummets as soon as it hits the chorus. Still, it's gone down in Swiftville as one of her greatest comeback songs of all time. You can't knock her.
Did you love our rankings? Or do you think we Need To Calm Down?
