not really a ranking, but just a collection of my thoughts on each song and the album as a whole. hope you like my opinions, or at least respectfully disagree with them. i wrote a hell of a lot so feel free to just ctrl+f to the songs you like because i wouldn't read half of this just to hear my fave song get trashed by some fag on the internet
1. i forgot that you existed - randomly a bop? it's kind of really basic but i like it tbh and just has the cute piano line/vocal melody carrying the instrumental. i like the strings a lot also. either way the lyrics are rly lovely, especially the chorus. and apparently this is about calvin harris? don't worry taylor, you're not alone with that one. also "it isn't love it isn't hate its just indifference" is a mood.
2. cruel summer - yoss, love a good summer song released at the end of august. tbh this feels like a very single-y track and i can think of a certain one it would replace rly well xd. i like the synths they sound rly nice, but this track is kinda... just okay to me? the bridge is probably my fave part, the rest is like... ok. don't hate it don't love it.
3. lover - honestly wasn't SUPER into this when it first dropped. i was very meh on it, i was like ok great guitar ballad love her, cuz they generally aren't my type of song. however, something really clicked once i listened to the whole album over again a couple of times. the chorus is SO pretty like i actually cant get over it. the instrumental isn't bad, either, and it does fit with the song rly well. i love a lot of the cutesy lyrics even tho i'm edgy and usually stuff like that would make me vomit in my mouth. she rly got me here and it hurts to admit it
4. the man - feminism <3 honestly even disregarding the song concept, i'm pretty into the production behind this song, it starts off pretty minimal but it kinda serves it once it hits the chorus. love the chorus and the verses are rlly iconic. the bridge is kinda meh but she already hooked me so i don't care. definitely one of my faves, even if taylor waited years to make her music even slightly political. it's total pandering and i ate this shit up.
5. the archer - electropop ballads we fucking won. i like how spacy and soft the synths at the start are they're so delicious and as the song builds up it gets even yummier <3 i really like this song in terms of lyricism, her just stacking like 20 metaphors on top of each other is so funny/messy but idc cuz i like her voice and the sound so it don't gotta make sense. also the bridge sucks and this song would be a perfect 10 if it was better.
6. i think he knows - honestly i rly like this song but its kinda basic. my fave part is the "he got my heart! beat! skipping down 16th avenue" and then the rest is like... ok cute pop song we get it taylor. you put like 20 of them on every album. this is also where i start to question how necessary an 18 track album was, but that isn't the fault of this song specifically.
7. miss americana & the heartbreak prince - okay, so... this is a song i'm kinda conflicted on? i don't hate the sound of it but its not really a huge draw for me either, i mostly just like the melody of the chorus, and the plinky xylophoney background line. and the rest is kinda forgettable to me. i love how this song is supposed to be taylor's big political statement, except it's wrapped in a corny mediocre metaphor about high school, and the entire bridge is just like... (tbf this is not to shit on her because i /technically/ agree) but it's this whole centrist dumb point about 'oh why can't we all get along!!! lets just be friends we shouldn't fight!!!' which is fine in an abstract sense but if that's supposed to be like... your ~*~POLITICAL STATEMENT THAT YOU WERE HOLDING BACK BECAUSE YOU WERE SCARED~*~ then that sucks and so does she
8. paper rings - ok this will be controversial but so am i xoxo, luvs drama. this song is just... so ghetto. it's one of those like cutesy upbeat peppy guitar songs about having a relationship that is like... oh we're a mess but we go so well together! wow! nobody has ever experienced this or made a song about this. lily allen made a really bad version of this type of song and it scarred me for life. maybe i'm just bitter and i hate love? who knows, that could be it but either way i don't like it and it sounds bad and i will probably skip it on future listens
9. cornelia street - yay back to homosexual electropop songs about love and stupid metaphors. this one clicks with me because it sounds good, mostly. i love the verses and the chorus too. a lot of the vocal performance on this song rly serves. her saying "we bless the rains on cornelia street" made me giggle because toto spilled tea there. idk i don't have much to say when i like a song a lot. good song <3 good lyrics <3 good instrumental <3 and GOD does that final chorus hit right <3
10. death by a thousand cuts - this track is rly weird compared to the rest of the album. it's got this weird fusion of electropop/guitar/vocals in the production, but i love when the chorus hits and that sparkly synth starts going off yes ma'am. the lyrics are cute but they don't click with me amazingly well, maybe cuz i heard an allie x song about the whole death by a thousand cuts concept (stan her). sounds rly lovely tho she definitely has me on the ride for this one even if it feels like such a weird detour to take.
11. london boy - the music snob in me wants to whine about this song being overrated but i see why people like it. not really my favorite, but it's kinda funny and she's just like 'omg i love britain <3 o <3 yasss english ppl i stan give me that cardiff c*ck'. either way the verses sound rly lovely, but the rest of the sound doesn't really click me. there's some weird trumpets in there and all that, and some nice sounding moments that make me go like :) but it's really not all there for me. kinda hope it clicks tho i feel like it should be a song i like a bit more than i do.
12. soon you'll get better ft. dixie chicks - alol @ this random dixie chicks collab. it's just... an ok guitar ballad. i like the lyrics much more than i like the instrumentation. i kinda just hate songs that primarily rely on guitar to carry the background. i see WHY its a slower more ballad-esque song because imagining this as some sort of hyperpop song is kinda... a no. but it kinda suffers from its basicness, at least to my ears. :3
13. false god - kind of a bop. definitely an unexpected moment on this album, but i like the minimal production that just uses the same few loops and lets the vocals be the main focus. the drowsy trumpets sound rly good like i love that type of sound because i love jazz rap or something <3 it's a cute concept with strong lyrics, i like the idea of using religion as a metaphor in general, and the chorus is so pretty so it kinda wins even if it is a rly random track.
14. you need to calm down - je suis calme! tbh i was super into this song at first. it's total pandering and i ate this shit up. [2] especially just the super poppy, wavy synths really get me in terms of sound. i mean... i don't particularly care for the lyrics? like wow hating gay people is bad? wow we should stop making women in the industry compete? what revolutionary ideas taylor! the funniest part how she pulls like the 2016 stan twitter/tumblr-ish response out with the whole "aw, are you mad? calm down hun. like can you not?" it KILLS me but again i don't even really hate it it's just too dumb to not love
15. afterglow - HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! IT'S ALL MEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! IN MY HEAAAAAAAAAAAAAD! I'M THE ONE WHO BURNED US DOWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!! 300/10 no explanation needed best taylor song of all time (also writing things about 18 songs is hard and explaining why i like something is even harder. i just love this song a lot the production is angelic and the vocal performance is *chef's kiss*)
16. me! ft. brendon urie - taylor's streak of terrible lead singles continues. i think i already got a top blog for shitting on everyone who enjoyed this song. it's less bad/cringy on the album but the fact that there's an album version just to make it less horrible says enough. there's not really anything HORRIBLE about the fixed version, it's just like... meh instrumental with cringy lyrics. the instrumental is so theater/band-y and burns me to my core. ngl this song became a bit of a guilty pleasure because i hate it but sometimes it'll catch me off guard and i'll be like... oh. this isn't complete garbage.
17. it's nice to have a friend - i know i spent half this blog shitting on guitar lines but this is another one that just works for me, i think it's because of the syncopation (music theory word so u know i know what i'm saying) on the plucky guitar lines that just makes the production hit me a little better. i love the oohohohohohoh and the 'it's nice. to have. a friend.' SO much it's kind of unreal. either way this song really works for me, maybe it's just because the instrumentation is pretty minimal until the trumpet kicks in, which is another thing i like. hard to say, because i feel like this song is mega overlooked and hopefully i can wake someone up to it.
18. daylight - honestly this song doesn't stick with me super well, but it's a good way to close the album at least. i feel like i've heard the whole "synths that build into a really dreamy, beautiful chorus/ending" type of song a lot of times before, and even on this album, so it's just not really there for me. i will say i enjoy the lyrics, though. i only see daylight daylight daylight. kinda cute, just doesn't really give me what i need, i guess.
not many thoughts on the album specifically, kind of wish the fluff/extra tracks were cut off because hour long albums are not the tea, but it's a streaming age so it is what it is. in terms of general concept she does kinda have me, i think it's at least better than reputation was because she's not trying to be something she's not, except for maybe overtly centrist. lover generally has a more taylor-y concept and this album feels a lot more... honest? not to say she's a fake bitch, but it's just a more genuine feeling i get. anyways this album has some gems and i'll probably obsess over the songs i really like for a while.
so... this took a really long time and i'll be bitter when it gets 3 votes, 27 points and 1 comment where someone says "omg how do u not like [x song]!!! -12 get taste". either way i enjoyed doing this and maybe ill do a more COMPREHENSIVE ranking, or talk about some other pop albums i like or want to recommend.
