… and decided to do a ranking this week. I kept thinking and thinking on what to write about but I came up short. So, to keep things simple, I’m gonna pull out ole trusty: a tier list. 

Disclaimer: No shade to anyone who does their blogs this way, since you definitely pour a lot of time and effort into them. They are super fun to make and even more fun to read, so from one blogger to another, hopefully I make the niche proud.

Easy part over. After deciding to do a list it was time to actually pin down a topic. Lucky for me, I needn’t look further than the cover of our latest lit novel. That’s right folks, this is another Red era blog post. Hope you’re happy. And if you’re not a fan, I hope you keep reading—you’ve made it this far!

Full disclosure, I heavily debated writing about anything Taylor related at all. Since there are so many Swifties in class, I worried the topic would be cheugy and overdone. But at the same time, we’re talking about the greatest artist of our generation so is there even such a thing as cheugy and overdone when it concerns her? (NO). In fact, I pray your feed gets clogged with Taylor Swift. It’s what we all deserve.

In sticking with the Red re-recording, I was planning on ranking all of the songs on the album, but to be honest, it’s not one of my favs and I don’t have an extra two hours between now and Friday to hold another listening party. Eshani! How could you say such a thing so close to November 13th! I’m embarrassed of myself too but Red without the touch of personal heartbreak just doesn’t hit the same. 

Instead, this cuffing season (wishing you all a very merry one!), I’ll rank her discography—a far more simple and relatable production for my mainstream audience. 

1. Top Notch: I really challenged myself with this tier, by deliberately only selecting one album. It was super hard to bump Rep and 1989 down—that’s two thirds of my holy trinity mind you! What was not hard at all was giving Speak Now the first spot. When I say I eat, breathe, and sleep this record I am literally not exaggerating. It’s my go to for practically everything, from driving to homework, and I don’t think I’ve gone a day without hearing it. Every song so enchanting (; and mesmerizing, I truly feel as though I’m transported into a fairytale when I click play (not shuffle though, I actually respect the way in which the artist chose to specifically order their songs). 
2. Great: In any other ranking system these would deserve a place at the highest level, but due to the official unofficial limit placed on “Top Notch,” were relegated one down. 1989 was my first true love: the first complete album I bought on my iPod touch, the first concert I ever went to, and the first time I considered myself an artist’s fan. Though the honeymoon phase has worn off some, it’s easily my second favorite album of hers. At my core, I am such a pop princess, stereotypically so that I even enjoy “Welcome to New York” and “Shake It Off.” I know, you’re shuddering. Also, I actually just got into Rep like a couple of months ago thanks to a friend that was raving about it and I am sooooo infatuated. It really goes to show how first impressions mean squat since at the time it was released, I loathed it. Kind of reminds me of that whole elite-friendships-are-when-you-hate-each-other-at-first idea. I recognize now that my naivety prevented me from appreciating what is considered her “darkest” album, but a newfound perspective has allowed it to grow on me loads since then. And Red, the album whose reclaiming was the exigence for this entire post. Tbh, it’s a bit more on the lower end of great for me, but it’s a solid album with some solid records (“We Are Never Getting Back Together,” “22,” “I Knew You Were Trouble” to name a few). If this were any other artist it may have been my #1 but since it’s Taylor and the rest of her discography is insane, it’s just great.
3. Good: Folklore was unique and meaningful and illustrative but as your resident mainstream music lover, it just didn’t quite cut it for me. There are some tracks I have liked a million times over on Spotify (cough cough “Last Great American Dynasty”) but many others that I need to be in the perfect mood for—which usually means I don’t end up listening to them as much. I’ll chalk it up to not being a philosophical person. I like my music free of confusing extended metaphors ok! Now a lot of you might hate me for putting Fearless so low, and now that I’m looking at it, I’m really reconsidering. But also I’m too lazy to go back into TierMaker, change the ranking, re-screenshot, save to Google Drive, upload to WordPress, and update this blog. So for now, let’s roll with it. Fearless was my first introduction to Taylor. More specifically, listening to “You Belong With Me” every single car ride since a random record with that and The Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” was the only CD we owned. Yeah, this was way (WAY) back. It’s got some of the most iconic songs I’ve ever heard and …. Ok yeah, let’s move it up to Great. Forgive me for anything bad I may have said about Fearless, I am repenting. 
4. Cute: Evermore? More like everbore. Just kidding! All I can say is that Folklore’s sister album was not my cup of tea. Not really much else to it. Also I’m running out of words, so as difficult as it is, I’ll try to keep the rest of this brief. In terms of Debut, it was good, just a bit country for my taste. LOVE “Tim McGraw,” “Picture To Burn,” and “Teardrops On My Guitar,” but other than that, it’s not a super memorable album for me. 
5. Good, but not a big fan: Unpopular opinion incoming but Lover is her only bad album. Like legitimately below average. Not a single song from it has made any of my playlists (and I have Fifth Harmony’s “Miss Movin’ On” … the bar is really not that high). It’s not that it’s too happy, which some people complain about, since I like happy music way more than the next person, but that it’s just too cheesy. There is little depth to both the lyrics and beat, making it an overall filler album. “Lover” is maybe maybe the only song on Lover I’ll voluntarily listen to, but even that is pushing it. I’m sorry to anyone I’ve offended but I really can’t help myself with the slander. I truly worship Taylor but sometimes I wonder what she was thinking when she released the album which shall not be named. When it comes to the L word, I am just really not a fan. 

If you’ve made it to the end, how does it feel to have way too much time on your hands? You definitely have something better to do than read a 1000+ word fangirling rant (even I’ve lost count). She couldn’t even follow the rubric smh. If I were you I’d stick to a more appropriate length blog since that’s what I’ll be doing. Oh, and don’t forget to stream Red (Taylor’s Version)! #f*ckthepatriarchy