Taylor Swift

Why Red is better than 1989 {Ranking My Favorite Taylor Swift Songs}

Samantha, 4 Comments

Taylor Swift Ranking

It is no secret that Taylor Swift is Queen of the music world, at least for this generation. She has come out with more hit singles than anyone I can recall off the top of my head. And yes, I was a hater at first (actually, I still kind of loathe her) but god dammit her songs are catchy! Either way, I have gotten into this debate at least a dozen times; Red vs. 1989. I am obviously on the side that Red was a better album. I completely acknowledge that both albums have some jams, but I still feel as though Red had more, and of a better quality. What follows will be analysis of specific albums, complete with a ranked listing of some of my favorite songs from that album. At the end, I will attempt to give you my Top 5 10 songs!

Taylor Swift (2006)Image result for Taylor Swift Taylor Swift

  1. Our Song
  2. Teardrops On My Guitar

So like I kind of hinted at earlier, I was NOT a Taylor Swift fan for quite a while. In fact, I didn’t hear these songs until I was starting to like her (back around the time Red came out). Unfortunately these are two of the only songs on this album that I know (I know two more, but don’t like them nearly as much as these). This was back when Taylor still felt country! So I can appreciate these two as her starting point. Our Song is still my favorite of the two, it’s just so cute and sounds oh so country.

I’ve heard every album, listened to the radio,
Waiting for something to come along,
That was as good as our song

 

Fearless (2008)Image result for fearless Taylor Swift

  1. Love Story
  2. You Belong With Me

Again, another short list because these were all songs that came out before I started listening to her music. It’s funny because I knew this one song called Girl Next Door by Saving Jane before I heard You Belong With Me, so when I heard that for the first time I was a little annoyed thinking Saving Jane was ripped off! But I still kinda like You Belong with Me? It’s complicated, obviously, and it doesn’t help that the music video is super well known. Either way, the fact that it sounded so similarly to a song I listened to in middle school bumps it from my top spot for this album.

 

Speak Now (2010) Image result for speak now Taylor Swift

  1. Sparks Fly
  2. Mean
  3. Ours
  4. Mine
  5. Back To December

Now we are getting somewhere! Five songs from this album made my list. This was a tough one because especially for the top three, they each had their own significance in different parts of my life. I remember when the video came out for Ours and I was soooo excited because it had Zack Gilford from Friday Night Lights in it. That definitely put the song on my radar. Mean also got me through a particularly bad breakup/relationship (as a Taylor Swift song does). But the winner for this album has to go to Sparks Fly. It reminds me of a specific guy, and it’s a fond memory so it sticks with me a little better than the others.

My mind forgets to remind me, your a bad idea
You touch me once and it’s really something
You find I’m even better than you, imagined I would be
I’m on my guard for the rest of the world
But with you I know its no good
And I could wait patiently
But I really wish you would

 

Miscellaneous Image result for can you feel this magic in the air

  1. Today Was A Fairy tale (Valentine’s Day)
  2. Safe and Sound (Hunger Games movie soundtrack)
  3. I Don’t Want to Live Forever (Fifty Shades of Grey movie soundtrack)

These were all songs that I liked off sole albums or movie soundtracks. Today Was A Fairy Tale is a classic, I feel like everyone knows that one, so it takes the top spot with ease. But I do recall being obsessed with Safe and Sound after hearing it on the Hunger Games soundtrack. One of my sorority sisters actually sang it in a talent show and made us all fall in love (obviously). Doesn’t it just sound so haunting and beautiful?

 

Reputation (2017)Image result for reputation taylor swift

  1. End Game
  2. Ready For It?
  3. Delicate
  4. Look What You Made Me Do

This is Taylor’s most recent album, and one I feel many people were not super impressed with. For the last few years it seems like Tay has been ducking the press, and really not making many headlines. Then this album dropped, and it sounds really different (but not?) from her other stuff. I mean it’s still catchy Taylor Swift but I wasn’t super impressed, especially after following the two heavy hitters in her career. This was a clear winner for me, End Game featuring the one and only Ed Sheeran is no question. That’s all anyone wants to be, is someone’s end game, right? Someone who puts them first above everyone else. It’s a relatable concept and I’m sold. These two work really well together actually. I would be on board with any duets they put out (at least I think so).

 

1989 (2014)Image result for 1989 taylor swift

  1. Wildest Dreams
  2. Blank Space
  3. Style
  4. Shake It Off
  5. Bad Blood
  6. Out of the Woods
  7. I Wish You Would*

I will say this, ya girl had some hits off this dang album! This was definitely the best way you could have come back after such a heavy hitting album like Red. I know that overall, many people prefer these songs over others, and I can totally see that (Wildest Dreams is one of my all time favorite songs) but I just don’t think it was AS good as Red. But I will say, this album had a strong vibe, and I was feeling it. To me, many of the songs like Wildest Dreams, & Style felt old school Hollywood, very “Great Gatsby” if you will. Shake It Off, Blank Space and Bad Blood felt very new Hollywood, and I thought that they played really nicely together.

 

Red (2012)Image result for red taylor swift

  1. All Too Well
  2. Red
  3. Everything Has Changed
  4. 22
  5. I Knew Your Were Trouble
  6. We Will Never Ever Get Back Together
  7. State of Grace
  8. The Lucky One
  9. Stay Stay Stay
  10. Holy Ground

I mean is anyone else surprised that nearly the entire album is on my list? I remember this on repeat my entire junior year in my best friend’s car. SO many of these songs have such a significance to me. It was a much more singer/songwriter feel than her other ones (with exception to her earliest stuff I suppose) and I loved it so much. It felt so real, and raw, and I related to it so much. I remember blasting 22 because it came out the same year I turned 22. I remember getting dumped by a guy that year, and all my sorority sisters walking passed him in the cafeteria singing We Will Never Get Back Together. I laugh every time I hear the stupid remake of I Knew You Were Trouble with the goat scream. I can picture Taylor singing All Too Well at some awards show, getting so emotional and banging on the piano. Everything Has Changed is another Ed Sheeran duet, that just makes you fall in love. I have such fond memories of this album, and I think that is what it’s all about, isn’t it? Often times, you associate music with points in your life, the way a movie plays the perfect song for a specific scene, and they stay with you. This album stays with me, and probably will for a long time.

Oh, your sweet disposition and my wide-eyed gaze.
We’re singing in the car, getting lost upstate.
The Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place,
And I can picture it after all these days.
And I know it’s long gone,
And that magic’s not here no more,
And I might be okay,
But I’m not fine at all.
And now, what we’ve all been waiting for:

My Top 10 Taylor Swift Songs

  1. Wildest Dreams
  2. All Too Well
  3. Red
  4. Blank Space
  5. Everything Has Changed
  6. Sparks Fly
  7. Love Story
  8. Mean
  9. Today Was A Fairy Tale
  10. I Knew You Were Trouble

Image result for taylor swift GIF

I am definitely not her biggest fan (far from it) but dang does she put out some good music. This was a fun post to put together, maybe I will do a few more with other artists/bands!

Image result for taylor swift
Me thinking about doing song rankings for other artists like…