With 10 studio albums and a number of other releases besides, Taylor Swift is now arguably one of the most prolific songwriters in history.
It’s been less than two decades since the T-Swizzle’s humble beginnings in Nashville, but the singer is showing no signs of slowing down or stopping any time soon. In fact, with the eleventh album, The Tortured Poets Department, just around the corner, it seems that Swifties should just get used to regular premieres, perhaps even biyearly.
To commemorate this musical journey Swifties have been on since 2006, we’ve decided to take a trip down memory lane and review all the covert arts that have graced Miss Americana’s discography.
Taylor Swift (October 2006)
Taylor wrote all eleven tracks from this 2006 debut album, propeling her career onto greater heights and spending six months at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart. Memorable songs from this outing include “Tim McGraw,” “Teardrops on My Guitar,” “Should’ve Said No,” and “Our Song.”
Fearless (November 2008)
Believe it or not, Fearless remains the most awarded country album of all time to this date. Some of the singer’s most memorable songs are also featuree in this album, namely “Love Story,” “You Belong With Me,” “Fifteen,” and the titular “Fearless.” Taylor’s second album was a career-defining step forward, proving to the world that America’s sweetheart is here to stay.
Speak Now (October 2010)
Mostly consisting of country pop and pop rock songs, Speak Now received critical acclaim when it came out in 2010 and received multiple platinum certifications in several countries like the United States and Australia. “Mine,” “Back to December,” “Mean,” “The Story of Us,” “Enchated,” and “Long Live” are just a few of the most impactful songs from Speak Now.
Speak Now World Tour – Live (November 2011)
Now, I’m going to take this moment and blaspheme a little bit. I know a lot of you absolutely adore the Reputation tour or even the recent Eras Tour which became the highest-grossing concert in history, but for me personally, Taylor Swift’s greatest live performance has to be the Speak Now World Tour in 2011. Swift later decided to dedicate her first live album to this performance, and it still holds up to this day.
Red (October 2012)
Incidentally, Taylor followed the Speak Now World Tour up by what I consider to be her greatest album. By leaning harder on rock arrangements and combining that with her lyrical genius, Taylor turned Red into a timeless classic. It’s just a shame that the album didn’t end up bagging the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, because who knew where Taylor might have ended up if she hadn’t suddenly decided to shift directions and go full pop.
1989 (October 2014)
Before 1989, Taylor was a sensation around the States. A superstar on the rise, if you will. With 1989, that description no longer applied, because the catchy tunes of “Shake it Off” and “Blank Space” or even “Style” helped her reputation skyrocket to levels of global recognition. 1989 finally managed to win Album of the Year at the Grammys, so Taylor’s sudden pivot more than paid for itself despite the fandom’s initial reservations.
reputation (November 2017)
Well, look what you went and made her do. Taylor divorcing herself from a decade of established songwriting mythos turned reputation into something of a mixed bag for fans. While it might at first have been difficult to wrap your head around the new electropop and R&B sounds, reputation is now remembered fondly among Swifties, and many of them are impatient for the re-recorded Taylor’s Version edition.
Lover (August 2019)
Taylor began her partnership with Republic Records through Lover and it marked a return to those familiar pop rock territories. It was well-received by critics and became the best-selling global music album in 2019. Lover features some of Taylor’s best songs, like “Lover,” “Cornelia Street,” “False God,” and the global sensation “Cruel Summer,” which is currently the singer’s most streamed song, with a whopping 5 billion streams.
Lover (Live From Paris) (May 2020)
A lot of Swifties believe that Lover deserved a proper world tour like 1989 and reputation, but the COVID-19 pandemic ruined that potential. Fortunately, we still have the Live From Paris concert session, which features several accoustic renditions of Lover. “Death by a Thousand Cuts” and “Cornelia Street” in particular managed to garner a lot of traction, and I still think they’re somewhat more satisfying to listen to than the studio versions.
folklore (July 2020)
The surprise release of folklore in 2020 saved millions of quarantined souls from insanity. This was an opportunity for Taylor to embody the version of herself that would’ve emerged had Red received the critical acclaim it deserved, and it was every bit as good as we’d imagined. folklore is one of those comfort albums, the kind that you listen to on a rainy autumn day and reflect on the journey of life with a mix of melancholy and catharsis. Even now, I fear Taylor will never be able to replicate what she achieved with folklore, but I’ve been proven wrong before.
Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (November 2020)
You know what’s even more blissful and serendipitous than the folklore album? Why, of course, the accoustic renditions of the folklore album, accompanied by a concert film that takes place in a cabin nested deep in the woods. This is what you get with the Long Pond Studio Sessions, and like most Switfies, I’m still a little salty over the fact that evermore never got the same treatment.
evermore (December 2020)
The so-called uncherished sister of folklore, evermore also came out in 2020 to prove that the first release wasn’t just a fluke. This is pretty much a continuation of folklore in all but the name, so a lot of Swifties refer to the two of them interchangably. Swift brought her whole songwriting prowess to bear on these two albums, so do yourself a favor and go stream them on Spotify again if you haven’t done so in a while.
Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (April 2021)
The first album to get re-recorded because of Swift’s dispute with Big Machine, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) is basically a much-improved take on the original album, but let’s not forget all the juicy “Vault Tracks” that also accompanied its release.
Red (Taylor’s Version) (November 2021)
The re-release of Red came with the much-coveted 10-minute version of “All Too Well” and that came with a short film starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien. While the augmented tracks might take a bit of getting used to, we can’t help but be proud of Taylor and what she’s trying to achieve on behalf of all the artists whose rights have been abused by big label companies for decades.
Midnights (October 2022)
Midnights marked Taylor’s tenth studio album and came out in October 2022 to acclaim from industry experts. It also recently won Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year at the Grammys. Unlike some of the previous outings, Taylor only collaborated with one other guest artist on Midnights, and that was Lana Del Rey for “Snow on the Beach.”
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (July 2023)
The re-release of Speak Now sparked a nostalgic, tear-jerking journey for loyal Swifties. The addition of Vault Tracks like “I Can See You,” “When Emma Falls in Love,” and “Timeless” was also a nice touch. In fact, the latter has quickly turned into one of my favorite songs from that old album.
1989 (Taylor’s Version) (October 2023)
1989 (Taylor’s Version) sounded very similar to the original, but I guess we weren’t expecting more anyway. The Vault Tracks from the re-recorded 1989 quickly went viral because of their catchy nature, and they included the TikTok-ified “Is it Over Now?” alongside “Say Don’t Go” and “Slut!”
The Tortured Poets Department (April 2024)
Lastly, we have The Tortured Poets Department cover, which is the forthcoming eleventh studio album by Taylor. We don’t know what this new venture will entail, but the aesthetic and name remind us of folklore and evermore, so maybe Taylor has once again set loose the poet within to bring us home with divine tunes of remembrance, reminiscense, and heartbreak. The Tortured Poets Department is coming out on April 19.
