Posted on Nov 14, 2020

Here's My Definitive Ranking Of Every Taylor Swift Song

I'll admit it — I love some of my children more than the others.

BuzzFeed Staff

Taylor performing onstage at the Fearless concert in 2010

Netflix

HERE ARE THE RULES FOR INCLUSION: I am including all of Taylor's albums, including bonus tracks, and anytime she was featured on a film's soundtrack (even if it was a duet). I am not including any times she featured on other artists' nonsoundtrack songs or albums (e.g., "Highway Don't Care," "Two Is Better Than One"). I am also not including songs that were covers (so I'm not including the Christmas album or covers like "Umbrella") UNLESS they were on one of her major albums (so, "Untouchable.")

I love musicals, but I don't love Taylor's voice doing a sort of musical-style song. Also...Cats.

Best lyric: "Perilous night, their voices calling, a flicker of light before the dawning"

This song is just not up to par with Taylor's other songs! There's a reason this whole EP isn't on Spotify. There, I said it.

Best lyric: "I wake up, I'm alive, in only a little while, I'll cry 'cause you're my lullaby"

There are like three songs on Reputation that I can never remember, and this is one of them. It just doesn't feel like her.

Best lyric: "You make everyone disappear and cut me into pieces, gold cage, hostage to my feelings"

It just feels like a "Love Story" rip-off to me, and not in a good way! Also...Valentine's Day.

Best lyric: "Time slows down whenever you're around"

There just isn't much to this song lyrically, tbh! It's cute but doesn't make a big impact.

Best lyric: "Maybe I should've seen the signs, should've read the writing on the wall and realized by the distance in your eyes that I would be the one to fall"

As opposed to "A Perfectly Good Heart," it feels like there isn't much to this song musically, especially in the verses. I do love the lyrics, which are just about this feeling of constant, unwavering love. The "You are my best friend" part is especially sweet.

Best lyric: "You keep his shirt, he keeps his word"

This is another one that really isn't memorable to me! But it's sweet and pretty.

Best lyric: "The delicate beginning rush, the feeling you can know so much without knowing anything at all"

It was a good song to open 1989, and a good introduction to her new sound. But honestly...I just don't love it on its own. I guess I'm more of an LA girl.

Best lyric: "Kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats under coats, everybody here wanted somethin' more, searchin' for a sound we hadn't heard before"

This really sounds like a Jonas Brothers song, and I...kind of wish it were. Sorry. :(

Best lyric: "And I screamed, 'For whatever it's worth, I love you, ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?'"

This song is really pretty, but to me it lacks that super-relatable, authentic feel of many of Taylor's songs. Not that all of her songs have this, but I can think of better, more haunting songs of hers that read like poems with a similar melody.

Best lyric: "What should be over burrowed under my skin in heart-stopping waves of hurt; I've come too far to watch some name-dropping sleaze tell me what are my words worth"

I love how confident and fun this song is. But I also feel like it's similar to other songs on Lover!

Best lyric: "He's so obsessed with me, and boy I understand"

Every song on Red is beautiful, but a lot of them feel really similar, and they can blend together a bit. I think this is the most forgettable of them, though I still think it's beautiful!

Best lyric: "Time is taking its sweet time erasing you, and you've got your demons, and darlin' they all look like me"

This song is pretty, but it feels like it never totally hits its stride, and it's a bit forgettable.

Best lyric: "In silent screams and wildest dreams, I never dreamed of this"

I mean, this song is about cheating, right? Which I don't love. It also feels a little...sad, and not in a heartbreakingly relatable or poignant way. It's pretty, but not my fave.

Best lyric: "Back when we were still changing for the better, wanting was enough for me, it was enough to live for the hope of it all"

This song is really heartbreaking and beautiful, but it's also just. So. Slow. I still like it, but I'm rarely in the mood to listen to it.

Best lyric: "So I'll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep, and I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe"

I know I'm going to get hate for this, but here we are. This song is nice, but it just feels kind of simple to me, and I don't love Bon Iver's and Taylor's voices together. There are so many better duets!

Best lyric: "Second, third, and hundredth chances, balancin' on breaking branches, those eyes add insult to injury"

I KNOW. I'M SORRY. But while I LOVE the lyrics of this song and the story of it, I just really don't love the tune!

Best lyric: "And I've been meaning to tell you, I think your house is haunted; your dad is always mad and that must be why"

This is a cute song that doesn't get enough love. It feels very early Taylor. That being said, it doesn't feel as polished as her other songs.

Best lyric: "Call a cab, lose my number, you're about to lose your girl"

I really love the start of it (it kind of reminds me of "Candle in the Wind," but specifically the Parks and Rec version, lol). It feels like it's at a great intersection of country and lyrical music, but Taylor has better examples of this.

Best lyric: "I could go back to every laugh, but I don't wanna go there anymore"

I really love the lyrics and how specific they are. It's a beautiful song, but it does feel like it's almost spoken rather than sung.

Best lyric: "Maybe you ran with the wolves and refused to settle down, maybe I've stormed out of every single room in this town"

I feel the same way about this one as "Daylight." Beautiful lyrics, almost spoken melody. This one definitely feels more sung, but it also doesn't really have a chorus. I love it as part of the album, but I rarely listen to it on its own.

Best lyric: "All these people think love's for show, but I would die for you in secret"

This is another song where I love the lyrics but am not obsessed with the tune.

Best lyric: "I'd kiss you as the lights went out, swaying as the room burned down; I'd hold you as the water rushes in if I could dance with you again"

This song is really cute and fun, and I love the Idris Elba opening. Not the most memorable, but still good!

Best lyric: "Babe, don't threaten me with a good time"

This one reminds me of "All You Had to Do Was Stay," but the urgency in it makes me like it a bit more.

Best lyric: "I wish we could go back and remember what we were fighting for; wish you knew that I miss you too much to be mad anymore"

Sexy, but not as sexy as "Don't Blame Me" or "I Don't Wanna Live Forever," so I'm marking it lower.

Best lyric: "And if I get burned, at least we were electrified"

The nostalgia factor is strong with this one, so it's hard for me to really figure out how good it is, which is why it's ranked a bit lower. Still, it makes me happy whenever I hear it.

Best lyric: "All those other girls, well, they're beautiful, but would they write a song for you?"

I really felt this song as a middle schooler. It feels similar to "Teardrops on My Guitar," but I actually think it's more relatable.

Best lyric: "Like shadows in a faded light, oh we're invisible"

This is an underrated song. I love the urgency of the verses, but the title is a little cliché (Hannah Montana has a song with basically the same title).

Best lyric: "Locked up in your arms and our friends are laughing, 'cause nothing like this ever happened to them"

The lyrics on this one feel a little cheesy, and I'm not sure I love the king imagery, but it's still a cute song, and I like the melody.

Best lyric: "Now you try on callin' me, baby, like tryin' on clothes"

Big Machine Records

Another example where I love the message and it's catchy, but musically it's not my favorite. It sort of makes fun of what people say about Taylor, like "Blank Space," and also tells haters to back off, like in "You Need to Calm Down," but it's not quite as tongue-in-cheek, which is the best part of those songs.

Best lyric: "I go on too many dates, but I can't make 'em stay, at least that's what people say, mmm mmm, that's what people say, mmm mmm"

This song really captures what it feels like to utterly idolize a guy in high school, whether that's Harry Styles or the cute guy in your chem class. But again, the nostalgia factor here is making it hard for me to tell if this song is good or not.

Best lyric: "This is wrong, but I can't help but feel like there ain't nothing more out there"

Maybe it's just that I love Halsey's "Colors" (which has similar lyrics) so much, but I've just never liked this song as much as I wanted to. It's still a great title song for the album!

Best lyric: "Loving him is like trying to change your mind once you're already flying through the free fall, like the colors in autumn, so bright just before they lose it all"

This is a cute song, but I don't feel any of the lyrics are particularly inspired, and it reminds me of other songs on 1989.

Best lyric: "Tell her how you must've lost your mind when you left her all alone and never told her why; and that's how it works, that's how you lost the girl"

I love the references and slang in this song, and it's a fun "Screw you" anthem that's a great opener to Lover, but I think there are better songs that are similar (like "This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things").

Best lyric: "In my feelings more than Drake, so yeah"

This feels like the more mature sequel to "Superstar," about actually dating the person of your dreams and still seeing them as this star or hero. It's a lot of fun!

Best lyric: "Something in his deep brown eyes has me singin' he's not as bad like this reputation"

I love this song because some people are just straight-up cold, and there's no real explanation other than that. This song feels like calling someone out while also having a realization and figuring out what you deserve. The bridge is also great!

Best lyric: "You put up the walls and paint them all a shade of gray, and I stood there loving you and wished them all away, and you come away with a great little story of a mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you"

This song is fun, but it feels sort of like a filler song on an album where basically every song is stellar. (Can you tell Speak Now is my favorite album?)

Best lyric: "But you held your pride like you should have held me"

Bon Iver, take notes from Gary Lightbody. This is how you do a Taylor Swift duet. (Please don't hate me.) I love the lead-up to the choruses.

Best lyric: "This is the last time I'm asking you why you break my heart in the blink of an eye"

Yesss, Taylor taking notes from Colbie Caillat! This does feel like a Colbie Caillat song, but it also feels like Taylor. Again, Bon Iver, take notes.

Best lyric: "People are people, and sometimes we change our minds"

This should have been more than a bonus song. I love the chorus — It feels like I'm belting the song in the middle of an empty stage. This song reminds me of every angry conversation I've rehearsed in the shower.

Best lyric: "What do you say when tears are streaming down your face in front of everyone you know? And what do you do when the one who means the most to you is the one who didn't show?"

Bonus points for Taylor starting off her newest album by swearing, but other than that, this song isn't anything super special!

Best lyric: "You know the greatest loves of all time are over now"

I love how quietly happy this song is, and it feels like an update on Taylor's life after years of silence, but I just cannot get over "trust him like a brother." It just makes me so uncomfortable. Your lover should never be compared to your brother.

Best lyric: "All my flowers grew back as thorns, windows boarded up after the storm, he built a fire just to keep me warm"

This is just a good, pleasant song. I'm happy when it comes on shuffle, but I don't usually seek it out.

Best lyric: "Years ago, we were just inside, barefoot in the kitchen, sacred new beginnings that became my religion"

This song has a great bridge, and the lyrics are super relatable. It's not SUPER memorable, but every time I listen to it, I remember how much I like it.

Best lyric: "I bet it never, ever occurred to you that I can't say 'Hello' to you and risk another goodbye"

This song captures the desperation of trying to hang on to love so well — it's such a sad song, but it's also really pretty.

Best lyric: "You are not like the regulars, the masquerade revelers, drunk as they watch my shattered edges glisten"

This song should NOT have just been a bonus track. The bridge is so good, and the ending is stellar.

Best lyric: "I said, 'Leave,' but all I really want is you to stand outside my window throwing pebbles screaming, 'I'm in love with you'"

This song is really cute and fun...almost TOO cute and fun. Still, it always puts a smile on my face.

Best lyric: "You came in wearing a football helmet and said, 'Okay, let's talk'"

I love the whole concept sung about in this song, and it's also just a really nice melody. But not my fave from the album or anything!

Best lyric: "Cold was the steel of my ax to grind for the boys who broke my heart; now I send their babies presents"

I'm so glad this ended up being a single and not just a bonus song — I love the lyrics, and the tune is way more fun than a lot of the other upbeat songs on 1989.

Best lyric: "I could build a castle out of all the bricks they threw at me"

I really like this song, but it often gets forgotten on Taylor's first record, and I do think there are better songs with a similar message. STILL, a great song!

Best lyric: "You could have helped if you had wanted to, but no one notices until it's too late to do anything"

This song is just so unique, and yet it still feels like Taylor. I know I've gotten on songs before that don't really feel like they have a chorus or that feel sort of spoken, but this one just works.

Best lyric: "Church bells ring, carry me home, rice on the ground looks like snow"

This song is really sweet and very country. It has a huge nostalgia factor for me, but I still think it holds up. I love that it doesn't have to be about a romantic love but just really believing in someone.

Best lyric: "I'm taking pictures in my mind so I can save them for a rainy day"

This song makes me cry. The love story is so beautiful! It feels almost like the happy version of "Tim McGraw" to me for some reason — it's VERY country.

Best lyric: "And I'll be 87, you'll be 89, I'll still look at you like the stars that shine in the sky"

I'm a sucker for any and all Alice in Wonderland references, so this one was a winner from the start.

Best lyric: "It's all fun and games till somebody loses their mind"

This song feels like Folklore doing Red in the best way. It feels very vintage and Old Hollywood, which is imagery Taylor made a lot of use of in Red. I love when Taylor gets into storytelling, and this is one of my favorite examples of that.

Best lyric: "She had a marvelous time ruining everything"

Aaaand this is exactly the kind of song "The Last Great American Dynasty" was copying. I like this one slightly better, just because it's a little bit more fun to belt out, and it feels a little more magical.

Best lyric: "He said, 'Look at you, worrying so much about things you can't change; you'll spend your whole life singing the blues if you keep thinking that way'"

This was my anthem back when I had the biggest crush on this boy in my class. It feels silly and giddy in the best way.

Best lyric: "Guess I'll just stumble on home to my cats, alone, unless you wanna come along"

I have to be honest: The Red songs can blend together. I LOVE this song, but I wish it were on a different album, because its placement on Red makes me forget about it! I love the way this song builds.

Best lyric: "I can't decide if it's a choice, getting swept away"

This is one of the best songs on Red. I love the fast drumbeat, and the lyrics feel unique while still relatable.

Best lyric: "And I guess we fell apart in the usual way, and the story's got dust on every page, but sometimes I wonder how you think about it now, and I see your face in every crowd"

I love how unapologetic this song is. I kind of wish it had started the album! It's dark and almost villainous, but also tongue-in-cheek.

Best lyric: "But if he drops my name, then I owe him nothin', and if he spends my change, then he had it comin'"

This song was technically released on the Beautiful Eyes EP, so I'm counting it! It feels like a mix between "Our Song" and "Picture to Burn," while still being its own thing. It feels a little young, but it's also a classic for all my old-school Swifties out there.

Best lyric: "Wish I had concentrated, they said love was complicated, but it's something I just fell into"

This is a really quintessential Taylor Swift song and feels sort of like her poking fun at herself and how people picture her pre–"Blank Space," but for the titular song on the album, I wanted it to go a little harder! Still, great bridge!

Best lyric: "She floats down the aisle like a pageant queen, but I know you wish it was me, you wish it was me, don't you?"

Ah, the song that spawned about a million engagement Instagram captions. For good reason, though. It's fun and sweet and giddy!

Best lyric: "The wine is cold like the shoulder that I gave you in the street, cat and mouse for a month or two or three"

Okay, I know I said I don't like songs about cheating/affairs. But the music of this song is just. SO. GOOD (one of her best). It would be higher if it were about something else — I don't love romanticizing affairs.

Best lyric: "Take the words for what they are, a dwindling, mercurial high, a drug that only worked the first few hundred times"

For the longest time, I didn't hear the "I miss" and thought this was just a fun love song about dramatic young love. But I like it better the real way — it doesn't feel as mature as a lot of Taylor's later love songs, but it definitely captures a certain type of yearning you feel when you're young.

Best lyric: "He can't see the smile I'm fakin', and my heart's not breakin', 'cause I'm not feelin' anything at all"

One of Taylor's best songs lyrically for sure. It's a little slow and quiet, but still really good!

Best lyric: "You're still all over me like a wine-stained dress I can't wear anymore"

I know people feel really strongly about this song, and I agree that the message isn't great. But it's just so damn catchy — it's my guilty pleasure for sure.

Best lyric: "No amount of vintage dresses gives you dignity"

This song, to me, is a better version of "The Man." It's so dark and angry, but put into a lilting melody that feels like the perfect representation of women having to come across calm and collected and dial down their emotions to be more pleasant.

Best lyric: "I'm takin' my time, takin' my time, 'cause you took everything from me"

Again, I love whenever Taylor takes responsibility and talks about regret in her songs (it's relatable, lol). I also love how open-ended this song is: We don't know if this plea actually works.

Best lyric: "Fighting with a true love is boxing with no gloves, chemistry till it blows up, till there's no us"

This felt like the most honest song on Reputation, and I loved that. It really signaled a huge shift in Taylor's worldview and was part of her shift toward realism in talking about love. The song's melody feels delicate, and the lyrics, spoken in a slightly unsure voice, feel so vulnerable and authentic.

Best lyric: "Sometimes I wonder when you sleep, are you ever dreaming of me? Sometimes when I look into your eyes, I pretend you're mine, all the damn time"

I LOVE how tongue-in-cheek and fun this song is. It's my go-to angry song to blast alongside all my angry rock. The whole Gatsby imagery is a lot of fun too, and the bridge is great.

Best lyric: "And so I took an ax to a mended fence"

This song feels like lying down under a weighted comforter in the dark on a rainy day, in a good way. When I'm feeling sort of melancholy, but not necessarily in a bad way, it's perfect.

Best lyric: "In the middle of the night when I'm in this dream, it's like a million little stars spelling out your name"

I feel like this song hits home for anyone who's ever been in a toxic relationship or even friendship. One of the worst parts is just not understanding how someone who loves you could treat you like this, and this song captures that so well.

Best lyric: "Why do you have to make me feel small so you can feel whole inside? Why do you have to put down my dreams so you're the only thing on my mind?"

Big Machine Records

This song plays with Taylor's fairy-tale imagery in an interesting way, where she actually rejects it in favor of reality. Maybe this was signaling a later shift, but I really liked it. It reflected the disillusionment felt after being betrayed and the questioning of whether it is your fault. I just love the complex feelings it described so well.

Best lyric: "My mistake, I didn't know to be in love, you had to fight to have the upper hand"

This is an anthem, honestly. I love calling someone "mean" because it's not even really an insult. It's not bringing anyone down or stooping to their level. But at the same time, it's so dismissive. Like, I literally don't care what you think, you're just mean. This is a better anti-hater anthem than "Shake It Off," tbh.

Best lyric: "But someday I'll be living in a big old city, and all you're ever gonna be is mean"

This song feels very 2000s in the best way. I just love the moment it captures of deciding you're done with someone's lies.

Best lyric: "You had me crawling for you, honey, and it never would've gone away, no, you used to shine so bright, but I watched all of it fade"

I really think this is Taylor's strongest song lyrically. I know it's pretty slow and simple musically, but the eerie darkness that feels hidden under the track just cements this song's place in the top 50 for me.

Best lyric: "Stood on the cliffside screaming, 'Give me a reason.' Your faithless love's the only hoax I believe in"

I'm already crying listening to this one. This will forever remind me of my family, and especially my mom. That verse about her mom taking her window-shopping after she was fighting with her friends always gets me — moms really can just make everything better, even just for a day, even when everything is a mess. Listening to this song just feels like a reminder of that.

Best lyric: "I don't know who I'm gonna talk to now at school, but I know I'm laughing on the car ride home with you. Don't know how long it's gonna take to feel okay, but I know I had the best day with you today"

This is one of those songs where I cried when I first listened to it. It just really hits home for me, so maybe I'm biased — but the lyrics are also amazing!

Best lyric: "They told me all of my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all my potential"

The Jonas Brothers singing this with Taylor...iconic. But really, this is such a great early song. How did Taylor find her sound so early? I can't help but sing along to this one.

Best lyric: "I can't resist; before you go, tell me this: Was it worth it? Was she worth this? No, no, no, no"

THAT SAXOPHONE, THOUGH! This song is so sexy and unique and personal and intimate. Everything about this song is just perfect.

Best lyric: "And I can't talk to you when you're like this, staring out the window like I'm not your favorite town. I'm New York City, I still do it for you, babe"

This song is really sad but also really great. It perfectly captures the loss of innocence in this really beautifully sad way.

Best lyric: "Remember the footsteps, remember the words said, and all your little brother's favorite songs. I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone"

This is my favorite of the vintage/Old Hollywood Taylor songs. It's very "Lucky" by Britney Spears (another great song), but more specific and more nostalgic. It carries all the joy of watching an old movie but still feels relevant to today. It also has this hint of darkness, which I always love in Taylor's songs.

Best lyric: "Another name goes up in lights, you wonder if you'll make it out alive"

Someone did a Tumblr edit of this song and the Marauders from Harry Potter, and I've associated them ever since. I know this is about her band, but to me it reminds me of graduation or prom — like a last night of perfection with your high school friends before everything changes. So emotional!

Best lyric: "And the cynics were outraged, screaming, 'This is absurd,' 'cause for a moment a band of thieves in ripped-up jeans got to rule the world"

👏👏CALL👏👏HIM👏👏OUT!! 👏👏 I've personally always loved when Taylor called men out: At one of her early concerts, they played this interview where Taylor basically said that if men didn't want her to call them out, then they shouldn't do bad things, and this is the best example of that. It's not even just a fun revenge anthem, though — it's so heartbreaking and bitterly regretful. It feels like Taylor is providing a voice for people who have been taken advantage of in relationships.

Best lyric: "But I took your matches before fire could catch me, so don't look now, I'm shining like fireworks over your sad, empty town"

Some of my favorite Taylor songs aren't necessarily about romantic love. I love that this is about sticking with anyone you love during the hard or boring or monotonous times, because that's real love. It's also got a gorgeous melody.

Best lyric: "Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere"

This was my favorite when I was growing up. I just felt like it GOT me. I didn't exactly relate to romance songs in middle/high school, so I loved whenever Taylor would sing about identity and not belonging. It just captures so well what it feels like to be young.

Best lyric: "I don't know what I want, so don't ask me, 'cause I'm still trying to figure it out"

This song has some of my favorite Taylor Swift lyrics. It's so poetic and feels like such a great bridge of her sound over the past few years. It truly feels like maturing while also lamenting the past without bitterness. It feels so symbolic and complex.

Best lyric: "I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost, the room is on fire, invisible smoke, and all of my heroes die all alone"

Y'all are sleeping on The Hunger Games soundtrack!! "Eyes Open" is SUCH a good song. Even though it's about The Hunger Games, it still feels like it's about Taylor, and how everyone's waiting to tear her down. I also love whenever Taylor talks about playing make-believe and yearning for that time again

Best lyric: "Every lesson forms a new scar; they never thought you'd make it this far"

This song feels almost like a rant or diary entry in the best way. It's kind of like this fast stream of consciousness that I, of course, learned by heart at 14. This song feels really young in a good way: It's not immature; it's just authentic.

Best lyric: "So here's to everything coming down to nothing; here's to silence that cuts me to the core"

It kind of feels like cheating to include this, since it was never on an official album, but I don't care. It's just honestly SO CATCHY, and it captures yearning to me better than "Teardrops on My Guitar" and even, in some ways, "You Belong With Me."

Best lyric: "First thought when I wake up is 'My god, he's beautiful,' so I put on my makeup and pray for a miracle"

This feels like one of the first big examples of Taylor telling someone else's story in a song (although there are some examples in Red), as she did so much in Folklore. I love when she invokes vintage imagery and films, and she nails that in this song.

Best lyric: "But with three of us, honey, it's a sideshow, and a circus ain't a love story, and now we're both sorry"

I love whenever Taylor sings about forgiveness. Barring the context behind this song, I always thought it carried such a beautiful lesson about growing up and making mistakes, and truly believing in people even when they mess up.

Best lyric: "Did some things you can't speak of, but at night you'll live it all again. You wouldn't be shattered on the floor now if only you had seen what you know now then"

This song used to be my alarm (depressing, I know). It made me feel so seen and understood; I think that's one of Taylor's superpowers as an artist. This song in particular feels as if a close friend is talking to you — not promising that things will be okay, but just seeing you and being there.

Best lyric: "I guess it's true that love was all you wanted 'cause you're givin' it away like it's extra change, hoping it will end up in his pocket...but he leaves you out like a penny in the rain"

Republic Records

I feel like I should be waltzing to this song; I think it's one of her absolute best melodies. I also love the lyrics and the fact that she's not singing about a fairy-tale love, but something just as beautiful and far more lasting. It feels like contentment, or cuddling with your loved one at the end of the day, or cooking dinner with your partner.

Best lyric: "And you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me, and at every table, I'll save you a seat, lover"

The personal connection that Taylor has to this song just makes it that much more poignant and beautiful. This is one of those songs I truly feel in my very soul when I listen.

Best lyric: "Something med school did not cover: someone's daughter, someone's mother, holds your hand through plastic now. Doc, I think she's crashin' out. And some things you just can't speak about"

Yet another underrated song (surprise, surprise). The imagery! The tune! The lyrics! We were ROBBED of a music video.

Best lyric: "American glory faded before me, now I'm feeling hopeless, ripped up my prom dress. Running through rose thorns, I saw the scoreboard and ran for my life"

This song is just SO. MUCH. FUN. I literally cannot listen to the second verse without singing it, and that's ~impact~. This song just feels so carefree and breezy and pure fun — it's like sugar.

Best lyric: "Well, I like the way your hair falls in your face, you got the keys to me, I love each freckle on your face"

This is another song that feels as if Taylor is just smiling throughout it. It's so happy and fun and captures that giddy feeling of early love.

Best lyric: "You're the kind of reckless that should send me running, but I kinda know that I won't get far"

This is one of those songs that really encapsulate a whole album (in this case, Speak Now). It's so magical and captures that feeling of spinning around giddy in your room over your crush.

Best lyric: "This is me praying that this was the very first page, not where the storyline ends. My thoughts will echo your name until I see you again"

If Taylor has ever written a song about my life, it is this. It's got a fun melody but such heartbreaking lyrics, which is my jam, and the feeling it describes is just SO relatable.

Best lyric: "Tryna find a part of me that you didn't touch, gave up on me like I was a bad drug, now I'm searching for signs in a haunted club"

This one breaks my heart. It's like "Ronan," "Never Grow Up," and "The Best Day" had a baby in the best possible way. It's definitely Taylor's most personal song, and it's so beautiful.

Best lyric: "This won't go back to normal, if it ever was. It's been years of hoping, and I keep saying it because...'cause I have to"

If you don't know this song, you're missing out. It's basically a super-haunting lullaby that I literally think about ALL the time. Her voice is SO GORGEOUS (plus it features the Civil Wars), and this song is just so beautiful and unique.

Best lyric: "Don't you dare look out your window, darling, everything's on fire"

THE BEST SONG OFF FOLKLORE BY FAR. So symbolic and beautiful and haunting. It's honestly just a work of art.

Best lyric: "You turned into your worst fears, and you're tossing out blame, drunk on this pain, crossing out the good years"

CBS

The bridge on this song is the best of any song ever. I only wish it got there quicker! But it builds beautifully. I honestly think this is the best Taylor Swift song, but it's No. 4 because I just love my top 3 so much on a personal level.

Best lyric: "Maybe we got lost in translation, maybe I asked for too much, but maybe this thing was a masterpiece till you tore it all up"

AND:

"You call me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest"

This is the best song on 1989. I LOVE when Taylor goes a little bit dark and moody, and this song is so dark and sexy and urgent and PERFECT in every way. The lyrics and especially the line "Just grab my hand and don't ever drop it" remind me of one of my favorite songs, "I Think We're Alone Now," which is a bonus.

Best lyric: "Love's a fragile little flame, it could burn out"

This song does NOT get enough love, in my book. It's unlike any of her other songs, and the feeling it describes is so poignant and specific. The beat and emotion make me want to head-bang. SO GOOD.

Best lyric: "It's getting dark and it's all too quiet, and I can't trust anything now, and it's comin' over you like it's all a big mistake"

Here's My Definitive Ranking Of Every Taylor Swift Song

I have been a massive Taylor Swift fan for almost as long as I can remember.

Now, I've had a lot of time in quarantine, and so I've been making a lot of lists. This week, I decided to undertake a monumental mission: ranking every single Taylor Swift song.

Just a quick note before we start: This is just my opinion. Please don't come for me. We all love Taylor here! Now, let's get started.

146. "Me!"

145. "Beautiful Ghosts"

144. "...Ready for It?"

143. "Beautiful Eyes"

142. "Christmas Tree Farm"

141. "So It Goes…"

140. "Today Was a Fairytale"

139. "A Perfectly Good Heart"

138. "End Game"

137. "You Are in Love"

136. "Come Back...Be Here"

135. "Only the Young"

134. "Welcome to New York"

133. "Cruel Summer"

132. "The Lakes"

131. "Crazier"

130. "I Think He Knows"

129. "Sad Beautiful Tragic"

128. "This Love"

127. "Look What You Made Me Do"

126. "August"

125. "Last Kiss"

124. "Exile"

123. "Out of the Woods"

122. "Seven"

121. "Girl at Home"

120. "Begin Again"

119. "Come in With the Rain"

118. "Daylight"

117. "Peace"

116. "All You Had to Do Was Stay"

115. "Dancing With Our Hands Tied"

114. "London Boy"

113. "Teardrops on My Guitar"

112. "I Wish You Would"

111. "Dress"

110. "Tim McGraw"

109. "Hey Stephen"

108. "Invisible"

107. "If This Was a Movie"

106. "King of My Heart"

105. "Shake It Off"

104. "Superstar"

103. "Red"

102. "How You Get the Girl"

101. "I Forgot That You Existed"

100. "Back to December"

99. "Superman"

98. "Cold as You"

97. "The Story of Us"

96. "You Need to Calm Down"

95. "The Last Time"

94. "Breathe"

93. "The Moment I Knew"

92. "Bad Blood"

91. "The 1"

90. "Call It What You Want"

89. "Cardigan"

88. "Cornelia Street"

87. "I Almost Do"

86. "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"

85. "Mirrorball"

84. "The Other Side of the Door"

83. "The Man"

82. "Stay Stay Stay"

81. "Invisible String"

80. "Mine"

79. "New Romantics"

78. "The Outside"

77. "22"

76. "It’s Nice to Have a Friend"

75. "Stay Beautiful"

74. "Mary’s Song (Oh My My My)"

73. "I Don’t Wanna Live Forever"

72. "Wonderland"

71. "The Last Great American Dynasty"