After my Drag Race Snatch Game thread, I'm in a countdown mood so I thought I'd do this to celebrate some of Taylor's best now we're entering the TS7 era with the release of the lead! I won't include Me! in this as it's too soon being just a day old, but from her sweet country debut to the divisive Reputation era, I've chosen the 40 songs I think stand that bit higher than the others in Taylor's discography. I probably forgot something obvious bc there's so many good ones, but here we go.

Ooh looking forward to this *.*

Hype 💗

 

Come through never grow up & Delicate top 2 *.*

Hype 💗

 

Come through never grow up & Delicate top 2 *.*

Sam I gave you those spoilers in confidence ffs x

Omg sweeter than fiction could be a spoiler tho x

40 Eyes Open

 

2012

The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 and Beyond

UK peak: #70

US peak: #12

 

"Every lesson forms a new scar

They never thought you'd make it this far"

 

Kicking off this countdown is one of Taylor's soundtrack singles, the rock tinged Eyes Open. At the time, this really stood out as something different, she hadn't really done rock before other than pop-rock on the likes of Story Of Us and Better Than Revenge, but for a country girl it wasn't too much of a stretch and she bettered it on State Of Grace since. The lyrics paint a picture as Taylor usually does, and they fit the Hunger Games film for which it was written, you can almost visualise bits of the story listening to it.

 

39 Begin Again

 

 

2012

Red

UK peak: #30

US peak: #7

 

"I've been spending the last eight months

Thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end

But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again"

 

Red saw Taylor start to transition away from country, but this little beauty showed she wasn't gone entirely, as it could have easily been a single from any of her first three eras, although it still felt like a step forward. Rather than her usual country-pop fare, this could almost be a cute Miranda Lambert love ballad, but it has those magical fairytale of love lyrics that only Taylor can bring to life. This has grown and grown on me over the years, and it feels timeless.

 

38 Gorgeous

 

 

2017

Reputation

UK peak: #15

US peak: #13

 

You make me so happy, it turns back to sad, yeah

There's nothing I hate more than what I can't have

 

This might be an unpopular one, I know how muted the reception to this was, is and always has been, but I've always loved it :wub: It stands out on Reputation as being a bit left-field, but still having that perfectly crafted Max Martin and Shellback sound. I can see how the way those two things clash and blur might be jarring to some, but I love that this is different and has that fizzy and bubbly sound that I can't get enough of. The confusing single situation didn't help it get its moment to shine but it did well nonetheless *.*

 

37 Call It What You Want

 

 

2017

Reputation

UK peak: #29

US peak: #27

 

And I know I make the same mistakes every time

Bridges burn, I never learn, at least I did one thing right

 

Next up is a Reputation promo single, one of the more chilled moments on the album. This cool and darkly woozy love song really sucks you in, it feels like you're on a walk at night feeling content with life. Amongst the "edgy" revenge tracks, this really stood as a cute little love song and a great pop song in its own right.

 

36 Speak Now

 

 

2010

Speak Now

UK peak: N/A

US peak: #8

 

Don't wait or say a single vow

You need to hear me out"

And they said, "speak now

 

The first song from Taylor's best album to appear is the title track, one of the promo singles. I adore these lyrics, as with every song on Speak Now they really paint a picture of a specific person, a specific relationship with specific feelings, and it makes you feel like you're there living it. It's a classic story song of Taylor's, and you feel yourself happy at the end that she gets the guy :lol:

My favourite of that lot is 'Gorgeous' :wub: I can understand why it's not exactly raved about on here because she's being so obviously saccharine but I've always had a soft spot for it. I wish we got a video for it, but then again, the quality of the music videos quickly went from sublime to style over substance post-LWYMMD so maybe not :lol: 'Call It What You Want' is lovelyyy, I remember hearing that on the chart show (#29 smash x) and being surprised by the stripped back sound because the era had felt so bold so far.

 

'Safe & Sound' is definitely my fave of the Hunger Games tracks but 'Eyes Open' was something a little different as well, that project was such a good stepping stone between eras! I wasn't so into 'I Don't Wanna Live Forever' on the other hand in terms of soundtrack songs, I blame ZAYN's falsetto :kink:

Eyes open last again i must be the only one who really likes it was my most played song in my itunes library for months

Eyes open last again i must be the only one who really likes it was my most played song in my itunes library for months

It's not last it's 40th of all her songs so I really like it.... :lol:

i’m Buzzing at the ‘gorgeous’ love - it’s one of my fav Taylor songs!

It's not last it's 40th of all her songs so I really like it.... :lol:

 

My bad i thought was singles only :P

35 White Horse

 

 

2008

Fearless

UK peak: #60

US peak: #13

 

"I was a dreamer before you went and let me down

Now it's too late for you and your white horse to come around"

 

The first track from Fearless to appear here is the 2nd single White Horse. This is a classic Taylor heartbreak song, as she feels stupid for getting carried away and thinking that a relationship was a perfect fairytale, facing realism when it all goes wrong and comes crashing down.

 

34 Fearless

 

 

2008

Fearless

UK peak: #111

US peak: #9

 

So baby drive slow

Til we run out of road in this one horse town

I wanna stay right here in this passenger's seat

 

This cute little bop about new relationships and the feeling of being untouchable they can give you, the happiness that makes you not care that things could go wrong, is next up, the title track from Taylor's second album and the final single released from it. The lyrics to this one are lovely, they really capture that little period where love starts to bloom and everything feels great.

 

33 Teardrops On My Guitar

 

 

2006

Taylor Swift

UK peak: #51

US peak: #13

 

Drew walks by me,

Can he tell that I can't breathe?

And there he goes so perfectly,

The kind of flawless I wish I could be

 

The first track from Taylor's self titled debut to appear is the second single, the classic weepie Teardrops On My Guitar. It's very much of its time, that dramatic teen heartbreak ballad, but I'm sure we all know that feeling from being that age, it feels like your world is going to crash down around you when that cute boy doesn't like you back.

 

32 Don't Blame Me

 

 

2017

Reputation

UK peak: DNC

US peak: DNC

 

Don't blame me, love made me crazy

If it doesn't, you ain't doin' it right

Lord, save me, my drug is my baby

I'll be usin' for the rest of my life

 

Another Reputation track is next, this time the album track Don't Blame Me. This is a bit of a banger, with the production being the shining star alongside some lyrics that compares love to a drug addiction, using it as an excuse for going a little mad. This is definitely one of the highlights of Reputation :wub:

 

31 New Romantics

 

 

2014

1989

UK peak: #132

US peak: #46

 

Baby, we're the new romantics

Come on, come along with me

Heartbreak is the national anthem

We sing it proudly

 

This millennial anthem was the final single from 1989, but originally it was just a bonus track! I'm glad this got a chance to shine, I love the satirical take on millennials and they think and feel, as well as the new-wave synths in the production, this is a perfect example of that glittering pop that 1989 does so so well on so many tracks.

I'm so glad that 'New Romantics' got the single treatment despite being merely a bonus track! '1989' was filled with so much killer that it extended to bonus songs as well *.* her eponymous era isn't my cup of tea on the whole but I'd say that 'Teardrops On My Guitar' is my favourite from that album so yay for that popping up!

Don't Blame Me and New Romantics :wub: :wub: :wub: Both album highlights and tbh career highlights, adore both <3

 

Call It What You Want is also gorgeous :heart:

 

I feel all the others so far would be in like my 41-55 section :lol: (with the exception of Eyes Open, by far the inferior THG song and I never go back to it oops x)

I'm so glad that 'New Romantics' got the single treatment despite being merely a bonus track! '1989' was filled with so much killer that it extended to bonus songs as well *.* her eponymous era isn't my cup of tea on the whole but I'd say that 'Teardrops On My Guitar' is my favourite from that album so yay for that popping up!

Yasss, always killing the bonus tracks *.*

 

Don't Blame Me and New Romantics :wub: :wub: :wub: Both album highlights and tbh career highlights, adore both <3

 

Call It What You Want is also gorgeous :heart:

 

I feel all the others so far would be in like my 41-55 section :lol: (with the exception of Eyes Open, by far the inferior THG song and I never go back to it oops x)

What isn't inferior to Safe And Sound tbh *.*

30 Out Of The Woods

 

2014

1989

UK peak: #136

US peak: #18

 

"The rest of the world was black and white

But we were in screaming color"

 

I used this kind of overrated, in a way it still is a bit but nontheless this is a great 80s tinged synthpop banger, which received critical acclaim. The lyrics focus on anxious feelings around a relationship everyone is watching, that everyone wants to know everything about, which of course is something Taylor knows very well! A specific reference has everyone thinking this is about Harry Styles, we may never know.

 

29 All You Had To Do Was Stay

 

 

2014

1989

UK peak: N/A

US peak: #114

 

"People like you always want back the love they pushed aside

But people like me are gone forever when you say goodbye"

 

Another 1989 song, this time an album track that should have been a single (but you could say that about most of that album of pop perfection tbh. The lyrics detail the struggle of keeping a relationship together no matter what you do, because it's hard when little things keep rocking the boat and things just can't stay on the straight and narrow. Thematically it might be quite similar to other Taylor songs (Stay Stay Stay comes to mind) but musically it's 1989 through and through.

 

28 Our Song

 

 

2006

Taylor Swift

UK peak: N/A

US peak: #16

 

"Our song is a slamming screen door,

Sneaking out late tapping on your window,

When we're on the phone and you talk real slow,

'Cause it's late and your mama don't know"

 

Back to the debut again for a country bop, a characteristically lovely song about being in love as a teenager, and all those metaphors and weirdly specific feelings that Taylor nails about that time i nyour life. It's nothing groundbreaking but I've always loved this :wub:

 

27 Dear John

 

 

2010

Speak Now

UK peak: N/A

US peak: #54

 

A heartbreak epic next, and the longest song on this list. This is about John Mayer (who'd have guessed, v ambiguous title xx), and the way that Taylor felt silly for not listening to warnings and seeing how John was before she got hurt. This is one of those long songs that just doesn't feel it, v emotional and dramatic but I adore this for what it is and can't help but belt the song out with it :wub: Her vocals are at some of their best here and as always the lyrics are on point detailing intricate thoughts and feelings and making you feel like you've experienced it all.

 

26 Picture To Burn

 

2006

Taylor Swift

UK peak: N/A

US peak: #28

 

Rounding off this section is an angry woman scorned track from the debut. It might not have the seething bitterness of a Miranda Lambert track about burning things down, but the petty angst is very Taylor and I've always loved this sing-a-long track.

 

Somehow missed this thread until now - Eyes Open, Begin Again, New Romantics and All You Had To Do Was Stay are my faves so far :wub: Three very underrated singles and one rightfully well-liked album track (but should've been a single of course) *.*

'Out Of The Woods' is utter pop perfection - that chorus is truly glorious :wub: it's still painful that it didn't even re-chart in the top 200 here when released as a single :( I'm so glad that it was released nevertheless because the video was worth it. 'All You Had To Do Was Stay' is my favourite album track on '1989' for sure :wub: I agree with you that it's definitely a 'should have been a single' moment, even though we got so many singles anyway :lol:

Out of the woods & AYHTDWS 😍😍😍😍 OOTW is such a stomper of a song and the latter has aged incredibly and I really think it would've made a great single looking back on the era *.*

 

Our song issa bop and Dear John is one of her best written songs ❤️ Idk why I thought u stanned the latter more for some reason 😂

 

Picture to burn used to be a major fave but low-key got bored of it the past couple of years 😭😭

Out of the woods & AYHTDWS 😍😍😍😍 OOTW is such a stomper of a song and the latter has aged incredibly and I really think it would've made a great single looking back on the era *.*

 

Our song issa bop and Dear John is one of her best written songs ❤️ Idk why I thought u stanned the latter more for some reason 😂

 

Picture to burn used to be a major fave but low-key got bored of it the past couple of years 😭😭

Omg I kinda did stan it more like if I did this a couple of years ago it'd probs be top 20 so you're not entirely wrong :')