On the eve of a new Taylor Swift album, I thought I would
make an updated list of my top ten Taylor songs. My last list was made right
before Red, which turned out to be
her best album, so it was a list that desperately needed updating. It’s crazy
to think how long I’ve been listening to Taylor . . . it was twelve years ago
and she’s been a part of my daily rotation ever since. I remember going to
Borders early in the morning to buy Fearless
on release day. Counting down the minutes to midnight to buy Red on iTunes. Watching the DVD of the Speak Now tour on Christmas day. It
seems like just the other day she made a song about being 15 and now she’s about
to turn 30. As long as she’s creating new music, I know I’m in. I have little
doubt she’ll continue to make music I find valuable, as evidenced by this list,
which contains songs from every era of her career. Here’s to another twelve
years and more, Taylor. And now the list:
10. Today Was a Fairytale
As far as I’m concerned, this is the apotheosis of her
“storybook love” phase, even more than “Love Story,” which is a little too
fanciful to hit home. This is a more down-to-earth version of that youthful
sentiment, and we real fans will always chose down-to-earth Taylor over her
other personas.
9. Holy Ground
The closest she got to something resembling the “indie band”
music she playfully derided in the lead single off Red, showing off her ability to make different kinds of music in
her inimitably listenable style. (See also “I’m Only Me When I’m With You”)
8. Delicate
I thought this song was the best thing on Reputation after one or two listens of the
album and I was so glad it turned into a massive hit. The song is (dare I say) really
delicate, a highwire act in terms of both Taylor’s voice (which is at her most
ethereal) and having the beats coming in at just the right time and intensity,
so as not to disrupt the fragile mood she sets at the beginning of the song.
7. Shake It Off
The best lead single of any Taylor album by far. Instantly
infectious, it will continue to shake butts for decades to come.
6. Last Kiss
Still a masterclass in pop lyricism. “How you kissed me
when I was in the middle of saying something, there’s not a day I don’t miss
those rude interruptions”; “All that I know is I don’t know how to be something
you miss”—she
wouldn’t top these lines until the number one song on this list.
5. Enchanted
If she has a “November Rain,” this is it. A nearly 6-minute
ode to that love-at-first-sight yearning, it features a stylistically shifting interlude
75% in that just amps up the emotion to another level. Grand and sweeping,
hopelessly romantic, a classic.
4. State of Grace
Taylor lyrics cascading over a big arena rock sound is
something to behold. One of the best album openers of all time.
3. Our Song
The original. I’ll always have a fondness for this song, the
song that made me fall in love with her music, the song I listened to over and
over, my pop song “Infinite Jest.”
2. Begin Again
A perfectly written song. A perfect blend of story and
emotion. Every beat is delivered at just the right time in just the right way.
Deceptively simple, but powerful and hopeful.
1. All Too Well
Her songwriting masterpiece. She takes you through a
relationship from beginning to end, using the most exquisite lines she’s ever
come up with. “You call me up again just to break me like a promise, so
casually cruel in the name of being honest.” Jaw-droppingly good. The song
feels big, important. It crescendos in a way that soars, delivering you to that
blissful place that all great songs take you. It’s amazing art, there’s no
other way to put it.
