Taylor Swift’s career has been active since 2003 to the present day. Over 20 years of a career she has released 11 studio albums and 4 re-released albums 5 eps and 4 live albums. And to this day she is still rocking and selling out stadiums across the globe. Safe to say whether you’re a swiftie or not she’s been in the game and it’s rare you wouldn’t know her name or music. Taylor has been an important piece in my life and many others as well. My sister introduced me to her when she came out with her first self-titled album back in 2006 and we have been religiously listening to her music ever since. Begging dad to buy the new CD for years up until streaming services broke out and we would have little listening parties on the old computer or in the car. Safe to say we are long-time swifties. This props up the question: if you had to pick 3 albums from Taylor’s Discography, which albums would it be and would you have a story behind them? 

I would say my top three would be 1989, Red (Taylor’s Version), and Folklore. Now it used to be Speak Now as my third however as I have gotten older I feel more of a connection with Folklore. It’s a funny thing, what time can do to a person and how much change can be brought forth with it. So let’s break down the stories behind the reasoning of my top three and maybe you could relate to them as well. 

 Red (Taylor’s Version) 

Red (Taylor’s Version) was released November 12 2021 this was her first re-recorded album and in my personal opinion, it has been her best re-record, especially the Vault Songs that were added to it. To all my non-swifties “From the Vault Songs” refers to the songs that were written for the Red Album but didn’t make the release back in 2012 when it was originally released. And it contained one of the most heart-wrenching songs in the All Too Well 10-minute version. I could go into major detail with this song but I will just break down how that day went for my sister and me and maybe you could have a similar experience to ours as well. We scheduled the release date of the Short Film that was connected to the song that Taylor had directed and we got snacks, and tissues and told our dad that we needed the living room and TV for like 20 minutes just for this music video premiere. He understood the importance. I am pretty sure we started crying about 2 minutes into the song. We were overwhelmed with emotion because there was a part of us that felt like “Wow how could someone treat another in such a way for them to cook up a 10-minute song about their relationship fallout” Only Taylor could, really that’s the only explanation for that one. Regardless, that entire album top to bottom is such a masterpiece and the vault songs complement them so unbelievably well. 

Folklore

Folklore was released on July 24, 2020. My sister and I propped up my speaker and computer and turned on the little disco light in my room and played the album from top to bottom. First impressions we didn’t vibe with it too much. Now if you’re a Swiftie and can relate it was a shock. The style of music surprised us because it was such a shift from the Lover album truly and sonically it was sulky and ethereal in a way. I guess the people that we were then just couldn’t relate to it quite yet. Because every Taylor Swift fan knows you have a song by her for any situation no matter what. I guess as time went on especially after Covid and life started to pick up once again that’s when me and my sisters’ situation related more and more to that album. Heartbreaks, relationship fallouts, self-sabotaging, and all the fun stuff started to unfold and I found a sense of comfort in this album. Track 8 “August” was already our top song from 2020 but it hit more in 2022. I went through a friendship fallout with someone that didn’t appreciate me enough but at the same time, I wanted them to be someone they just couldn’t be for me. With the lyrics “wanting was enough, for me it was enough” those words became a sacred meaning that would stick with me all summer after high school. You don’t realize how much a song can hurt and heal you all at the same time. I say this because, at the beginning of that summer, those words were a painful memory of what my mindset was like during that friendship, wanting to be around that person was enough for me, just being near their energy was good enough, but why couldn’t they feel the same for me or maybe the did I just wasn’t aware. That song would drive me crazy because of how painfully true it was at the time. But as that summer winded down I grew and reflected on that situation as one does and that song doesn’t even come close to hurting me now because I can look back at all the good that came out of it and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without going through that event. Folklore is as sad and true as that album is. Despite the tears I cried listening to it, I realize how helpful and necessary that album became for me. The sense of clarity I found within it was such a spectacle. And that’s why it lies at number two on my list. 

1989 

Now it’s time for my top album to shine. 1989 was released on October 27th, 2014 this album was the game changer for me and changed the course of my life forever. 1989 sonically and lyrically was truly so wild for my sister and me. It was a sound that Taylor hadn’t fully enveloped towards which was pop. This was huge going from country to pop. We got a taste of it in the previous album Red which was released two years prior but not fully committed to that sound. Tracks like “Out of the Woods”, “I Wish You Would”, and “Wildest Dreams” really made me fall in love with the album and still have each song on repeat 10 years later. I appreciate it now more than ever and it’s still my top album today. This album, like many of Taylor’s albums, brought my sister and me together truly because I was at an age where I could fully be aware of the events that were going on. So we watched all of the music video premieres, we got our dad to buy it on CD and he ended up buying the Deluxe one with the extra songs and the Polaroids with them. I wish I still had those Polaroids if you still have them. I’m jealous. 

Overall, each of these albums holds a special place in my heart as do her others do as well. Each one I can connect to a different era of life. So I wonder once again if you could pick your top 3 albums of Taylor’s which one would it be?