Every Taylor Swift album in order: A complete guide to the record-breaking artist’s many eras

Taylor Swift (2006)

Swift dropped her first album at just 16, bursting onto the country music scene with hits like “Tim McGraw” and “Teardrops on My Guitar.” Her self-titled debut is remembered for its starry-eyed lyrics and now-distant country twang (fans affectionately call this era “Yee Haw Taylor”).

But the LP isn’t just an early experiment. From the witty pettiness of “Picture to Burn” to the charmingly small details of “Our Song” to the sweeping, 80-year romance of “Mary’s Song (Oh My My My),” the album lays the foundation for the vivid storytelling that would define her career. While widely considered her weakest release, it’s long overdue for a reevaluation when the re-recording comes out.

Fearless (2008) / Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2021)

With Fearless, Taylor bridges country and pop, crafting anthems with massive hooks like “Love Story” and becoming the youngest person to win Album of the Year at 20. (An 18-year-old Billie Eilish dethroned her in 2020 with When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go.) This is her princess era, full of sparkly dresses and wedding-themed music videos, but at its core, Fearless is a coming-of-age LP, chronicling the highs and heartbreaks of growing up. 

Contrary to its storybook sentiments, the album’s best moments deconstruct daydreams and fantasies; in “White Horse,” she tells an unworthy lover, “This ain’t a fairytale,” while “Forever & Always” — inspired by a now-infamous 27-second phone call from Joe Jonas — exposes the romantic title as a lie. The 2021 re-recording emphasized these themes even further, allowing Swift to reinterpret her past with a love letter to her fans.

Speak Now (2010) / Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (2023)

Entirely self-penned, Speak Now is a testament to Taylor’s prodigious storytelling. Like Fearless, it’s filled with lyrics about love, heartbreak, and kissing in the rain, but with a newfound maturity. “Back to December” stands out as one of her only true apology songs, while “Dear John” — arguably her most gut-wrenching Track Five — lays bare the devastation of a toxic relationship with an older man (widely believed to be John Mayer). 

This LP also marks the first time Swift truly experimented with genre, pulling clear pop-rock influences on “Better Than Revenge” (her Paramore era), “The Story of Us,” and fan favorite “Enchanted.” But most of all, Speak Now showcases her ability to tell an entire story in a single line — none more iconic than “You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter” from album opener “Mine.”

Red (2012) / Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021)

Emotionally raw and sonically adventurous, Red is a genre-blending exploration of honeymoon phases and heartbreaks. This is the album where she perfected the art of the bridge while blending pop, rock, and country.

The anthemic “State of Grace” leans into arena rock, the title track goes back to her banjo-heavy country roots, and the tongue-in-cheek breakup hit “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (shockingly, her first No. 1 single) signaled her growing pop dominance. Though it didn’t win Album of the Year, Red has since become especially beloved by fans, cementing its place as one of Swift’s most defining works.

And, of course, there’s “All Too Well” — her most iconic Track Five and, arguably, most iconic track overall. Though the long-rumored 10-minute version wasn’t on the original release, she finally unveiled it on the 2021 re-recording, complete with several scathing new verses and an accompanying short film that made its story even more impactful. The breakup epic incited a cultural moment and made history as the longest song to top the charts.

1989 (2014) / 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (2023)

1989 is the album where Swift took over the world. A full-fledged pivot to pop, it’s defined by shimmering synths, airtight hooks, and anthems built for chart domination and dance floors (like “Shake It Off,” which still plays at every wedding). For the first time, Swift’s sound felt truly modern, from the breathy “Wildest Dreams” to the introspective, Imogen Heap-assisted “Clean.” 

This LP also marks the first time she openly reckoned with her own fame — satirizing media narratives in “Blank Space” and embracing public feuds in “Bad Blood.” The latter features a now-classic music video stacked with her celebrity “squad,” from longtime bestie Selena Gomez to Zendaya to her cat’s namesake, Law & Order SVU’s Mariska Hargitay (a.k.a. Olivia Benson).

But despite the sonic shift, Swift’s signature storytelling remains intact. “Out of the Woods” captures the anxiety of a doomed relationship with frantic repetition, while “Style” romances a fellow pop star with a “James Dean daydream look in (his) eye.” 1989 isn’t just a cornerstone of Swift’s career evolution — it’s one of the 21st century’s defining pop albums.

Reputation (2017)

The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. 

After years of silence, no interviews, and wiping her social media clean in the wake of the infamous Kimye drama, Taylor re-emerged — literally pulling herself out of a grave in the “Look What You Made Me Do” video — to introduce Reputation, her most dramatic rebrand yet. This was the era where she fully embraced the villain narrative, reclaiming her public perception rather than letting it control her.

Sonically, Reputation dives deeper into electropop with EDM and R&B influences, especially in the aggressive, theatrical singles “Look What You Made Me Do,” “Ready for It?,” and “End Game.” But beneath the snakes and shadows, Reputation is primarily a love album, with tracks like “Delicate,” “Call It What You Want,” and “New Year’s Day” capturing the quiet sanctuary of a new relationship.

Divisive upon release, Reputation has since been reevaluated as one of Swift’s boldest artistic statements, growing even more resonant as antiheroines have come to the forefront of pop culture.

Lover (2019)

After the darkness and drama of Reputation, the Lover era was all pinks and yellows, butterflies instead of snakes. 

While the album wasn’t as critically beloved as some of her other works — singles “ME!” and “You Need to Calm Down,” were especially criticized for being overly earnest or out of touch — Lover radiated warmth, optimism, and an unabashed celebration of love in all its forms. It also became one of the rare albums where the deep cuts had more cultural impact than the radio hits. Lover holds some of Swift’s most beautiful, ethereal pop songs; “Cornelia Street” is gut-wrenching and nostalgic, while “Daylight” closes the LP with the thesis statement: “You are what you love.” And then there’s “Cruel Summer,” a song that had an iron grip on fans despite never being a single — until it finally was in 2023, immediately topping the charts as a perennial summer anthem.

Beyond the romantic visuals, Lover also signaled an important shift in Swift’s career. It was the first album she owned outright and the first time she directed one of her music videos — a move that foreshadowed the creative control she would soon take over her entire catalog.

Folklore (2020)

It’s hard to overstate how shocking Folklore was when it dropped in the middle of the pandemic — without warning, without promotion, and sounding nothing like anything Swift had ever done before. 

Her collaborations with Bon Iver and the National’s Aaron Dessner have a distinctly indie-folk sound, whether in the melancholy, moody duet “Exile” or the ethereal, Phoebe Bridgers-esque track “Seven.” She has always been a storyteller, but for the first time, she fully leaned into fictional narratives rather than autobiography here, from the now-iconic love triangle spanning “Cardigan,” “August,” and “Betty” to the saga of real-life socialite Rebekah Harkness in “The Last Great American Dynasty.” A uniquely subdued album for the artist, Folklore embraces themes of retreat and regret, which are perfectly encapsulated in the bonus track “The Lakes,” where she asks a lover to “Take (her) to the lakes where all the poets went to die.”

More than just a sonic departure, Folklore again proves Swift’s ability to shapeshift and redefine her artistry. The industry took note, too, awarding her yet another Album of the Year Grammy.

Evermore (2020)

Released just months after Folklore, many regard Evermore as its weirder little sister in the best way. Where Folklore is tight and cohesive, Evermore is looser and wilder, leaning into wintry cottagecore vibes on tracks like “Ivy,” a Victorian-inspired doomed love affair, and then going full alt-country on the Southern Gothic revenge fantasy “No Body, No Crime.” 

The album continues Swift’s deep dive into fictional storytelling with songs like “Champagne Problems,” a gut-wrenching ballad about a rejected marriage proposal, which quickly became a fan favorite. Folklore is a retreat into nostalgia and mythology, while Evermore is an exploration of grief and resilience. The title track closes the album with the phrase, “This pain wouldn’t be forevermore,” a sentiment that, in 2020, felt particularly poignant in a world reeling from loss.

Midnights (2022)

Midnights isn’t a reinvention — it’s a victory lap.

Instead of introducing a new era, here Swift revisits and recontextualizes her past selves; “Anti-Hero” plays like a more self-aware “Blank Space,” embracing her own flaws with the incessantly catchy hook “I’m the problem, it’s me.” “Lavender Haze” could have fit seamlessly on Reputation, rejecting the expectation that she should conform to the traditional wife role. “Maroon” revisits Red’s themes of passion and heartbreak but through a more mature, muted lens, and some speculate that “Question…?” incorporates a vocal sample from “Out of the Woods,” bringing back the messy, unresolved emotions of a past relationship.

Then came the solipsistic 3 a.m. tracks. “Bigger Than the Whole Sky” resonates deeply with listeners who have experienced loss, particularly those coping with miscarriages. “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” revisits the trauma of “Dear John,” this time with a gut-wrenching reflection on power dynamics and religious guilt. This is an artist at the peak of her power, tying together the threads of her past and breaking records in the process.

The Tortured Poets Department (2024)

Otherwise known as “Female Rage, The Musical,” The Tortured Poets Department is frenzied, messy, and raw. Charting two romantic collapses — the dissolution of her six-year relationship with Joe Alwyn and a brief, tumultuous union with the 1975’s Matty Healy — TTPD contains some of her most delightfully unhinged lyrics. 

On the eerie, hypnotic “Fortnight” (featuring Post Malone), she sings, “Your wife waters flowers, I wanna kill her,” while in “But Daddy I Love Him,” she taunts critics of her controversial beau — “I’m having his baby / No, I’m not, but you should see your faces.” The depressingly relatable “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” turns mania into a survival tactic: “I cry a lot but I am so productive, it’s an art.” And then there’s “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” a scathing diss track with a truly venomous bridge.

The second half, The Anthology, is slower and more contemplative. “The Black Dog” is one of the most haunting tracks, detailing the desperation of stalking an ex’s location because he “forgot to turn it off.” Polarizing upon release, The Tortured Poets Department represents everything Swift does best: turning personal pain into relatable mantras through cathartic, vulnerable songwriting.