Taylor Swift

One of the most recurring comments on social media whenever Taylor Swift comes up goes something like: “I don't understand how she can be so successful, I don't even know one of her songs…”. As if the blame lay not with the laziness of whoever's writing that, but with the American singer-songwriter herself. I found on YouTube a selection of Taylor Swift songs performed by hopeful young singers on the various international editions of “The Voice” broadcast around the world, in the most unlikely countries, from Mongolia to Thailand, and it becomes immediately clear just how famous and beloved Taylor Swift's hits are. A phenomenon that is not only musical but also media-driven, social, economic and even political, Taylor Swift remains a great mystery only in our country, after recording no fewer than eleven albums in the space of eighteen years, containing tracks that have become iconic and that have helped shape the stylistic range Swift has displayed so far, one capable of moving effortlessly from country to synth-pop, from rock to electronica, all the way to the indie-folk of her two pandemic albums, “Folklore” and “Evermore”.

I decided to put together a playlist of thirty tracks, a sequence of some of her best-known songs alternating with others that are more "esoteric" choices, one of many possible selections, meant to pique the curiosity of those who usually listen to indie-rock or other genres far removed from mainstream pop, a sort of primer for getting to know the music of Taylor Swift. I picked three tracks from each album (with just a couple of exceptions) and arranged them in reverse chronological order, from the most recent album, “The Tortured Poets Department”, back to the most distant in time, “Taylor Swift”, recorded in 2006, when the future superstar was just sixteen and trying to make a name for herself as a country-pop starlet. What emerges is an all-encompassing picture of every incarnation of Swift we've known so far: from the most energetically pop one (“Style”, “Cruel Summer”) to the more shadowy, introverted one (“Champagne Problems”, “Chloe”), from the one built around prominent electric guitars (“Better Than Revenge”) to the one of melodramatic acoustic ballads (“All Too Well”, “Long Live”), from the most sensual one (“Vigilante Shit”) to the one steeped in country imagery (“Love Story”), from the one that embraces electro power (“…Ready For It?”) to the one that edges toward the dream-pop of Beach House (“This Is Me Trying”, “Robin”).

1-2-3 – The Tortured Poets Department (2024)

Taylor Swift conceived her most recent work with the aim of breaking free from the “ultrapop” image that has stuck to her ever since the extraordinary success of albums such as “1989” and “Lover“. While still keeping a reassuring sound, the American singer-songwriter has pushed into other territories, folding indie-folk and chamber-pop elements into her sonic palette. The thirty-one songs on the encyclopedic “The Tortured Poets Department” go even further: they become a genuine sublimation of pain, achieved by laying bare – more thoroughly than ever before – the wounds, disappointments and anxieties of the popstar, both public and private, with no filter, decoding the events that have made her a protagonist in recent months through dozens of poems written on pages steeped in tears.

“Fortnight” is the first single released, featuring Post Malone, its soft groove engineered by Jack Antonoff (co-writer of almost the entire first half of the album) and a decidedly dreamy mood. The second half of “Tortured”, meanwhile, was made almost entirely with Aaron Dessner, who lends his touch to many of the most poignant, minimal moments, backing Swift with elegant piano parts, weaving in subtle guitar lines and obsessively fine-tuning the arrangements, which feature numerous string parts. On the moving “Chloe Or Sam Or Sophia Or Marcus” (which wouldn't be out of place on a National record) Dessner plays almost every instrument, while the gentle drums are handled by Glenn Kotche of Wilco. “Robin” is another highlight, every bit as enveloping as the Beach House songs on “Bloom“.

4-5-6 – Midnights (2022)

An ideal middle ground between the electro-pop of the “Lover”/“Reputation”/“1989” triptych and the lockdown reflections of the 2020 double release “Folklore”/“Evermore”, the songs on “Midnights” are steeped in a nocturnal amniotic fluid oozing sensuality, sounding like the small hours after leaving a club. Swift channels Billie Eilish on “Vigilante Shit”, one of her finest “revenge songs”, grills whichever seducer is in her sights on “Question…?”, leads us by the hand through the dark streets of New York on “Maroon” (these are the three chosen tracks), lands another hit with “Anti-Hero”, duets with Lana Del Rey on “Snow On The Beach”, and takes home the “Album Of The Year” title at the Grammy Awards for the fourth time in her career, an all-time record.

All this takes place in the midst of the re-recording campaign for her first six albums, while for months she tours the world with the Eras Tour (immortalized in a box-office-smashing concert film), one of the most spectacular and lavish shows ever staged. Taylor Swift allows herself no breaks, knocking down one record after another: thanks to "Midnights", in 2023 she claims – among other things – a remarkable nine Mtv Video Music Awards, a feat previously achieved only by Peter Gabriel, who won ten in 1987. In December of that same year, the venerable Time magazine names her "Person Of The Year", an honor never before bestowed on anyone from the world of entertainment.

7-8-9 – Evermore (2020)

In 2020, as the world suddenly finds itself locked indoors by government decree, Taylor Swift surprise-releases two albums within just a few months, both conceived largely with Aaron Dessner of The National. It's the sharpest turn yet in a career already rich with stylistic evolutions.

"Evermore" is not the poor twin of "Folklore", released just six months earlier, nor is it a collection of leftovers, as becomes clear from listening to a "Champagne Problems" elegantly carried by piano, a "Cowboy Like Me" featuring Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons, and the heart-wrenching "Tolerate It", a delicate ballad steeped in the pain of yet another love coming to an end. "Evermore" is further elevated by three duets, shared with The National, HAIM and Bon Iver.

10-11-12 – Folklore (2020)

"Folklore" could have been Taylor Swift's Waterloo, an album far removed from fan expectations, yet it received an overwhelming welcome instead. It's the album through which the Pennsylvania singer won over the indie crowd, who up until then had dismissed her as a fleeting, overrated pop phenomenon. Despite lacking any potential hits or radio-friendly hooks, and despite its shadowy, reflective, deeply introverted mood – a product of the fraught period the world was living through – "Folklore" became one of her most successful albums.

Suddenly finding herself, like all of us, shut in at home, Swift made it with the invaluable collaboration of Aaron Dessner, which is why it so clearly bears the hallmarks of The National's sound. "Folklore" would go on to win the Grammy Award for "Album Of The Year" and holds no shortage of surprises for listeners: Taylor Swift is no longer country, no longer synth-pop, no longer a sexy little doll – now she handles dream-pop textures, embracing the melancholy sound of Beach House on "This Is Me Trying", duetting fearlessly with an indie institution, Bon Iver ("Exile"), and lining up a string of gems built on high emotional stakes ("Illicit Affairs" and "August" rank among the best).

13-14-15 – Lover (2019)

After "Reputation", an album many consider a partial misstep, if not outright the weak link in her discography, Taylor Swift decides to play it safe by returning to the mood that defined "1989", still her biggest success to date.

Produced for the most part by Jack Antonoff, "Lover" contains one of Swift's best-known songs, "Cruel Summer" (which would enjoy a fresh wave of success in 2023 as a song and lead single of the Eras Tour), the breezy "The Man", and one of the tracks that shows her reverence for Lana Del Rey, "Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince".

16-17-18 – Reputation (2017)

Three years without a new Taylor Swift album is an eternity, but the singer went through a difficult period, marked by criticism and public affronts, some of them deliberately orchestrated by Kanye West and his wife. Taylor emerges wanting to vent her anger, on display to the world right from the seismic opener "…Ready For It?". "Reputation" is half a scathing, at times almost violent electronic record, its sounds heavily indebted to club culture, and half – and this is what throws many listeners – a thoroughly typical Taylor Swift record.

The best moments come when she dares more, on the "meaner" tracks like "I Did Something Bad", "Look What You Made Me Do", or when she veers into Lady Gaga territory on "Don't Blame Me". A record that lacks cohesion, but one too hastily written off, to the point that many consider it her weakest work.

19-20 – 1989 (2014)

"1989" is by far the most successful album Taylor Swift has released to date, a watershed moment marking the definitive shift from her early country-pop-rock sound to a synth-pop heavily influenced by the Eighties and Nineties. A bestseller so successful it even managed to outdo itself upon the release of the "Taylor's Version". It contains at least four massive hits: "Blank Space", "Style", "Shake It Off" and "Bad Blood", the latter of which, re-recorded as a duet with Kendrick Lamar, would win the Grammy Award for "Best Music Video". Two more Grammys would go to the album as a whole, in the categories "Album Of The Year" and "Best Pop Vocal Album".

From an album so famous and beloved that there's little left to discover, I've picked just two tracks: "Blank Space" (still, alongside "Cruel Summer", her most-streamed song on Spotify), on which Taylor responds with great irony to all those who accuse her of being a man-eater, and the lively "Style", a cheeky, not-so-veiled dedication to one of her most famous exes, Harry Styles.

21-22-23 – Red (2012)

Compared to other Taylor Swift records, the average quality of the songs on "Red" doesn't quite hold up, but fans are deeply attached to this album, perhaps because it cemented the singer's place among pop music royalty, showing she could go well beyond the premise of her early work. No longer just a young country prodigy, but someone skilled at moving in multiple directions.

"Red" contains at least two songs that remain among her most popular: "I Knew You Were Trouble" and, above all, "All Too Well", which, reissued a few years later in a ten-minute long version, would earn her a Grammy Award – in 2023 – for "Best Music Video". As our third pick, we've gone with the driving track that opens the album: "State Of Grace".

24-25-26 – Speak Now (2010)

This could be called her most "rock" album, one where, while still keeping a country root, Swift often slips into the role of a new-age Avril Lavigne. The guitars take center stage on several occasions, especially on "Better Than Revenge".

Among the highlights, we can't overlook the opener "Sparks Fly" and the precious ballad "Long Live", dedicated to her backing band. The track "Mean" would go on to win her two Grammy Awards, for "Best Country Song" and "Best Country Solo Performance".

27-28-29 – Fearless (2008)

There's a new young heroine of country-pop in the United States, and her name is Taylor Swift. After a rough-around-the-edges self-titled debut, recorded at just sixteen, "Fearless" became the American singer's first bestseller, earning her first major accolades, including Grammy Awards for "Album Of The Year" and "Best Country Album".

Some of these songs remain among her fans' favorites: at the very least, the title track "Fearless", the huge hit "You Belong To Me" and the sweet "Love Story" are worth a listen. "White Horse" would bring home two more Grammys (that's four out of eight total nominations...) for "Best Country Song" and "Best Female Country Vocal Performance". These were the first brilliant results of a career with few equals in the history of pop music.

30 – Taylor Swift (2006)

"Taylor Swift", the debut album by the very young singer-songwriter, is a country-oriented record that leans strongly toward pop, performed by a personality still taking shape but already capable of giving voice to the feelings of a generation. Swift puts a teenager's thoughts down on paper, talks about her own experiences, observes her own slow transformations, physical and emotional, decoding the world of a 2000s teenager, with all its insecurities and fears, opening up to the world a personal diary that her peers could see themselves in perfectly.

The album is driven by songs about fleeting summer romances, captured in the romantic ballads "Tim McGraw", "Teardrops On My Guitar" and "Our Song", which would spend six weeks at number one on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. But "Taylor Swift" also already reveals its author's more energetic side, especially on "Should've Said No" and even more so on "Picture To Burn" (our pick for the Playlist), bolstered by electric guitars that open up new, still-unfolding horizons. Even amid soft-rock flourishes, the instrumentation stays firmly tied to country imagery, thanks to elements like banjo and fiddle, used in a way faithful to tradition.

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31/01/2026