Insults have been hurled, friendships have been broken, and respect has been lost, but finally - after hours of self doubt and internal conflict- the editors of Unpublished have agreed upon a final, definitive, ULTIMATE ranking of all of Taylor Swift’s albums.
As we are well aware that some of these decisions will enrage our readers, we feel the need to disclaim that this list constantly changes depending on the day, season, mood, and relationship status.
As of November the 7th 2022 - this is how we are feeling:
1OTH PLACE : DEBUT (Taylor Swift)
I don’t think this will ruffle any feathers to be honest. It is by NO means a bad album - Who doesn’t love a bit of classic YeeHaw? It delivers absolute ICONIC songs like ‘Picture to Burn’, ‘Our song’ and ‘Should’ve said No’, but it was also literally written by a 14/15 year old. Gal really had not taken her GCSEs yet (I know that they’re not a thing in America but go with it) and I hate to say it but it shows. A lot of it is repetitive and there are also just some blatantly bad songs (looking at you ‘A Perfectly Good Heart’). Don’t get us wrong, there is something comforting and touching about the naive youthfulness of this album and certain songs like ‘Cold as You’ are really impressive lyrically– just not as impressive as her other albums. On the whole, a great album, but lacking in experience. It’s evident that Miss Tswizzle had to go through some traumatic experiences before she could serve us with her best work, and we’re glad that she did. Without extreme, scarf stealing, phone call framing, proposal turning down-ing, your best friend’s cheating husband murdering (who may have also killed her) levels of emotional pain, Debut just can’t climb any higher on the list.
9TH PLACE: LOVER
Let me start off by saying that we fully spent a good 45 minutes vehemently arguing in public about this one. Anyone who was in PRET on the King’s Road last Sunday - I sincerely apologise. Look, I KNOW that there are some amazing songs on this album. I KNOW OKAY. We get to see our lyrical lord in action in bangers like ‘Cruel Summer’, ‘Cornelia Street’, ‘Death By A Thousand Cuts’ and ‘The Archer’ speaks to my soul. But the album lacks consistency. Lover moved up and down our list constantly - mirroring how we felt about its tracks. How does a song as meh as ‘I forgot that you existed’ get followed with the pure perfection of 'Cruel Summer'? The bad songs on this album are actually like BAD bad and I don’t think I even really need to specify which but WHAT is ‘ME!’ ???? ‘You Need to Calm Down’? Too much of it reeks of cringey lyrics and childish, cookie cutter melodies to place it higher than what we have put 8th. I know this feels harsh but brutality is necessary. She’s a good album. We love her. Getting ready or walking with ‘I Think He Knows’ blasting in your ears is perfection. But too many of the songs are just alright at best and that unfortunately overshadows the phenomenal gems. Initially, we decided that Lover was equal to Midnights, but upon some serious marination, the truth was, it's not. Do we love Lover? Yes. Do we love it more than her other albums? No.
8/7TH PLACE: REPUTATION
Before you get confused, there was too much conflict amongst the Unpublished editors over the placing of Reputation - it is still a sore spot- so to keep everyone’s favourite team together, some concessions and compromises had to be made. Because of this, it has been tied with Midnights at 7&8th place.
A polarising album. There are some GREAT songs. 'Getaway Car' is beautiful. 'DON’T BLAME ME' ignites something within me. King Of My Heart actually causes pure joy and warmth to spread through my body. Songs like ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ were also essential for Taylor’s image and comeback after all the Kanye West drama of 2016. But there are also just quite a few songs that are a bit bleh. 'End Game' is a boring attempt to get a radio hit. ‘Ready for it’ is just okay. If we were ranking the albums based on their iconic-ness, then Reputation would definitely be higher, but, all factors considered, lyrically the songs just aren’t on the same level as some of her other albums. Reputation was exactly what we needed at the time, but the time has passed. We will always remember her snake era fondly, but some parts of this album should be left in 2017.
8/7TH PLACE: MIDNIGHTS
Right. Before we begin. Let me stress the importance of ALBUM MARINATION. This album just came out, so obviously you are not going to love it as much as you love albums that you have listened to repeatedly. When first listening to Midnights, I’m not going to lie, I was not that keen. A lot of the production is overdone and strange. ‘Midnight Rain’ for example- it would just be so much better without that odd vocal effect. Anyone who was unfortunate enough to witness the scarring James Charles Midnight Rain video on tik tok - I’m sorry. But this album is SUCH a grower. – I am well aware that this may be because I have been brainwashed to love everything this woman does— but I now adore Midnights. ‘MASTERMIND’? Gold. ‘You’re On Your Own Kid’ ? Beautiful. ‘Snow On the Beach’? Gorgeous. Once you strip back the pop beats and pay attention to the lyrics, you realise how brilliant they are. Of course, we expected nothing less from our songwriting saviour. The pain behind ‘Maroon’? Wow. It must also be said that the 3AM tracks (the bonus tracks) are necessary and a lot better than many of the songs on the original album? Why was ‘Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve’ not on the main album? Why were we deprived of “The Great War” for three whole hours? However, some of these songs could definitely have been removed from Midnights without being missed. ‘Vigilante ****’ is painfully millennial and quite accurately described by the second word of its name. It should have been silenced like Lana Del Rey on ‘Snow on the Beach’. This same problem can be found in songs like Karma and Paris. ‘Karma is my cat?’ What do you mean it is purring in your lap? Personally, I have never thought of everyone as a “sexy baby”.
Therefore, though there are some great tracks, Midnights cannot be placed any higher as of yet - this may change after the nostalgia factor kicks in. In all fairness, since compiling this list we’ve already found ourselves growing more attached to midnights.
6TH PLACE: FEARLESS:
Here we go. With number 6 we enter another league of Taylor Swift albums. The previous 4 were good. These 6 are legendary. Now, some OG Taylor Swift fans would argue this deserves to be number one. One editor very nearly stormed out of PRET upon learning this album was not in the top 5. Fearless embodies what Taylor Swift is. It’s childhood. It’s nostalgia. And it has potentially the most iconic songs in her entire discography. ‘LOVE STORY’ is on this album. ‘YOU BELONG WITH ME’ is on this album. ‘Forever and Always' might be my favourite Taylor Swift song of all time. When in a bad mood, count on Fearless to revive you. The outro to ‘The Other Side Of The Door’ alone is soul curing. This album holds everyone’s favourite songs to belt at parties, but it also contains underrated works of art like ‘Hey Stephen’, which instantly brightens your day, and ‘White Horse’, which makes you want to sob slowly. Versatility. Incredible. Just whack on ‘The Way I Loved You’ and shriek and your therapy is done. Fearless awakens the whiny piny teenage girl within us all. Name me a song that gets you belting the lyrics more than Mr Perfectly Fine?
Yet, if we’re getting critical and judgmental here - a department which Unpublished specialises in - as an album, there is not a great deal of variety and the songs become quite predictable.There are also some very forgettable tracks like ‘Come in With the Rain’ and ‘Superstar’. Whilst melodically Fearless is outstanding, lyrically it falls short compared to the next 5 on this list. We are raking the BEST Taylor Swift albums, not our favourites - painful as it may be. Fearless, you gave so much. Your siblings just gave more.
5TH PLACE: RED
Red is THE breakup crying anthem album. The essence of Sad Girl Autumn wrapped up into 29 tragic songs. We love the bitterness. We love the anger. Here, our poetic prophet had gone through enough trauma in life, and was able to bestow it upon us as a gift. Red has it all people. Who looked forward to their 22nd Birthday until Taylor Swift dropped ‘22’? Who walked around in the rain with a pumpkin spice latté as autumn leaves fell into place before ‘All Too Well’? ‘All Too WELL’ is on this album. Need I say more? As soon as you hear the twinges of that guitar - chills. Not to mention the divine treats we were able to obtain through RED Taylors Version last year. The short film was Oscar worthy. The Phoebe Bridgers feature made me question how I lived my life fully before violently crying to ‘Nothing New’. As this is being written, ‘Holy Ground’ is blasting through my headphones. I feel the urge to go on a run. Again, Red has the versatility. ‘Sad Beautiful Tragic’ and ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ on the same album? Truly heavenly. However, this album is ever so slightly lacking in cohesion. Just enough so that it can’t quite be moved up from 5th place. Red was a stepping stone of sorts for Taylor to jump into the world of pop.
4TH PLACE: EVERMORE
As two English Lit, History loving, tote-bag girls, it is excruciating to kick this album out of the top 3. We also understand that it feels wrong to separate it from Folklore. Her VOICE on this album. The LYRICS of this album. One editor tested if her friends could differentiate between lyrics from Evermore and Sylvia Plath’s poetry and they fully failed. Just look up the lyrics to any of these songs. Evermore should be taught in English Lessons. ‘Champagne Problems’? ‘Gold Rush’? ‘Coney Island’? Beautiful. Art. There is no better album to listen to on a frosty winter morning. It’s a tragedy that Evermore gets dismissed so easily but, it kind of is just a slightly less good Folklore - and this is by the most miniscule margin. Maybe if Evermore had ‘August’, the balance would be tipped, but alas, it does not. During heated debates, we came to the conclusion that if we were to erase either folklore or evermore from history, then it would unfortunately have to be Evermore.
3RD PLACE: 1989
1989. 1989 is the definition of Pop PERFECTION. There is no album more iconic than 1989. Not one. The IMPACT of 1989. Lest we forget it is the most awarded pop album in history. Yes, we are well aware that certain songs on albums ranked lower are better lyrically than many songs in 1989. Obviously ‘All Too Well' is better written than ‘Shake it off’ but it is the consistent flawlessness of 1989 that ranks it above Evermore. This is perhaps the ONE album people think of when they think Taylor Swift and that has to be taken into account. And the lesser known songs on this album are even more incredible than the common favourites. ‘Clean’ wrenches out feelings from deep within that I didn’t even know existed. ‘This Love’?. Upon assembling this ranking, the question was posed: could we live without 1989? No. We absolutely could not. Imagine a world without 1989? What would Taylor Swift be without ‘Blank Space’ and ‘Wildest Dreams’? Style? It’s immaculate. It’s anthemic. It IS Taylor Swift. 1989 was Taylor Swift’s renaissance, and, dare we say, it was better than the original one.
2ND PLACE: SPEAK NOW
No words. Speak Now is just beyond perfect. Here, the melodic messiah strikes again, and this time she’s suffered - and wants to make sure we all know about it. EVERY song is a banger. It is physically impossible not to sing along. You could literally behead me, send me to the guillotine, and my severed head would still bop to Sparks Fly. It’s entirely self-written and it SHOWS. The drama of this album! ‘Enchanted’ is enchanting. ‘Haunted’ haunts my sleep. The whole album is just magical and filled with nostalgia. It has all the boppery and bangerness of 1989 and Fearless, but with extra maturity and heart-wrenching lyrics. I think we’re all looking forward to Speak Now Taylor’s Version, and the collapse of John Mayer.
1ST PLACE: FOLKLORE (WINNER)
Speak Now may be my home but Folklore is my God. It is SO well written. SO heartfelt. So clever. I actually ascend while listening to ‘Exile’. ‘August’ makes me want to frolic in a field whilst also crying my eyes out. Folklore in the rain with headphones is just next level. The harmonies and the whole storytelling aspect of it just confirm this woman’s genius. Who thinks like this? Who writes like this? Taylor Swift could write those GCSE love and relationships poems but could Percy Shelley write 'My Tears Ricochet'? This woman has managed to write the most soul shattering, gut wrenching lyrics and make them sound pretty. One of the main culprits: 'This Is Me Trying'. One editor blatantly plagiarised ‘Mad Woman' in her English Language Creative Writing exam and it got her a 9, as it should. Folklore is a masterpiece that showcases her skill as a songwriter. If you are looking for songs to dance to, obviously this is not the album for you. But if we are ranking her BEST album? Undeniably folklore.
To conclude, we would like to remind all our readers that these decisions are final and if you disagree - take it up with the poll at the bottom of this article. The poll is the place for your discontent; use it as your personal boxing ring. But also, everything is just our opinion so please refrain from tackling us in the hallway for putting Reputation 8th. Thank you for getting to the end of this very long and obsessive rant; if you made it this far, you’re a proper Taylor Swift fan. You also definitely have too much spare time. Anyway, enjoy polling and farewell.
See you in the battle for tour tickets xx
What is Taylor Swift's best album?
Debut
Fearless
Speak Now
RED
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