These Taylor Swift songs are all great, but they belong on different albums. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Taylor Swift tracks that could totally work on a different album.
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00:00 [Music]
00:04 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 Taylor Swift tracks that could totally work on a different album.
00:12 [Music]
00:20 Number 10. I Know Places - 1989 - Reputation
00:25 1989 was Taylor Swift's fifth studio album and her big pop breakthrough.
00:30 It's upbeat and danceable, featuring a cohesive style and tone where every song earns its place.
00:36 [Music]
00:42 And don't get us wrong, this is true of I Know Places, but thematically the number also reminds of Swift's Reputation era.
00:49 After all, the narrator paints a picture of herself and her lover as cornered foxes, desperately trying to outrun the media gaze and find a place where they can be alone.
00:58 [Music]
01:04 In both 1989 and Reputation, Taylor dissects her own public image.
01:09 But while tracks such as "Blank Space" and "Shake It Off" feel more tongue-in-cheek,
01:13 I Know Places taps into the darker side of fame also explored in Reputation.
01:18 [Music]
01:22 Number 9. King of My Heart - Reputation - Lover
01:26 Swift dubbed her seventh studio album Lover a "love letter to love."
01:30 Reputation, while a drastically different work on the whole, features this theme in its own way through songs like Gorgeous, Call It What You Want, and many others.
01:39 However, we think King of My Heart would fit most seamlessly into the Lover track list.
01:44 [Music]
01:53 The synth-pop tune is an unfiltered celebration of romance, of being with someone who makes it feel like your wounds are healing.
02:00 [Music]
02:10 Both King of My Heart and many of the songs of the Lover era act as a refreshingly uncynical exploration of true love.
02:17 And that's timeless.
02:19 [Music]
02:22 Number 8. New Year's Day - Reputation - Varius
02:26 Reputation is an album of two parts.
02:28 It features themes of anger and revenge, but it also tells the story of a blossoming relationship.
02:34 New Year's Day rounds things out nicely, ending the story on a warm, optimistic note.
02:39 [Music]
02:48 Still, the different production makes it something of an outlier.
02:51 This gentle piano ballad relies on emotional honesty rather than synths and drum machines, lyrically spotlighting the small things that define love.
03:00 [Music]
03:06 Coincidentally, it also name drops two future albums, Midnight's and Evermore.
03:11 Okay, she says "for Evermore", but still.
03:14 [Music]
03:17 It wouldn't seem out of place in either work, fitting the sleepless vibes of the former and the poetic energy of the latter.
03:24 [Music]
03:28 We could also see it as part of folklore, or even Red, Taylor's version.
03:33 Number 7. The Archer - Lover, Folklore and Evermore
03:37 [Music]
03:45 If Lover was a season, it would have to be summer.
03:48 The bubblegum pink aesthetic and feel-good pop sound are in direct contrast with the dark drama of Reputation and the mellow vibes of Folklore.
03:56 However, with track 5, The Archer, Taylor gives us a taste of something different.
04:01 [Music]
04:07 Next to the likes of London Boy and Paper Rings, the song almost feels like an anomaly.
04:12 But compare it to Folklore's Peace or Mirrorball or Evermore's title track, and it makes total sense.
04:19 [Music]
04:27 While the song is slow, dreamy and emotionally vulnerable, it never really builds too intensely and is more about the lyrics than anything else.
04:34 In an album full of sunny energy, The Archer conjures a reflective mood.
04:39 [Music]
04:45 Number 6. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things - Reputation, Red, Taylor's Version
04:51 Another Reputation track that could transcend its album is number 13, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things.
04:57 [Music]
05:04 Although the lyrics reference fallout from drama, the tone largely remains playful, upbeat and emotionally light.
05:11 [Music]
05:15 Look What You Made Me Do and I Did Something Bad, in contrast, deal with similar subject matter,
05:21 but in this one, any real sense of anger seems to have evaporated.
05:25 [Music]
05:38 Instead, the song brings the same determined yet fun energy as the feel-good Red numbers.
05:43 Think 22 or We're Never Ever Getting Back Together.
05:46 There's a sense of moving on from past dramas, living your life and looking back with a sense of humor.
05:52 [Music]
06:00 Number 5. I Bet You Think About Me - Taylor's Version - From The Vault, featuring Chris Stapleton
06:06 Red - Taylor's Version, Fearless - Taylor's Version
06:09 Taylor Swift began her career as a country artist, but by her fourth album, she'd begun moving in a new direction.
06:15 [Music]
06:21 Red is lighter on the country and more heavily influenced by pop and rock.
06:25 Perhaps that's why I Bet You Think About Me was initially left in The Vault,
06:29 but Swift returned to her roots in 2021 when she released this absolute banger as part of Red - Taylor's Version.
06:35 [Music]
06:39 It's definitely a hit, and we can't help but think it's reminiscent of the best of Fearless.
06:43 We could picture it having been part of that era with its mixture of sarcasm, clever snark, and folksy country storytelling.
06:50 [Music]
06:57 It wouldn't be out of place on Speak Now, either.
07:00 Number 4. It's Nice To Have A Friend - Lover, Folklore, and Evermore - From The Vault, featuring Taylor Swift
07:05 Like The Archer, It's Nice To Have A Friend is one of Lover's more laid-back tracks.
07:10 [Music]
07:17 It wouldn't feel out of place on Folklore or Evermore, which are characterized by their storytelling and indie folk sound.
07:23 Tucked away towards the end of the album, Lover's track 17 is a quiet, brief tale of childhood friends who fall in love.
07:30 [Music]
07:35 The lyrics read like a poem, painting a vivid picture with only a few simple words.
07:40 [Music]
07:46 Meanwhile, the musical production is hauntingly beautiful.
07:50 With everything from the instrumentation to the background vocals blending seamlessly.
07:54 Those same descriptions could be applied to a slew of numbers on Swift's sister albums from 2020,
07:59 so it could have been a match made in woodsy heaven.
08:02 [Music]
08:09 Number 3. Vigilante Shit - Midnight's Reputation - With its talk of vengeance and a stripped-back, trap-infused production,
08:17 this dark pop tune could have easily been part of the Reputation era.
08:21 Snare drums and bass create the mood, while the lyrics weave a revenge narrative laced with mocking, witty lyrics.
08:28 [Music]
08:32 Vigilante Shit is perhaps less immediate and angry than many of the songs on Reputation,
08:36 but it tells a similar story of rising from the ashes to bring down an enemy.
08:41 [Music]
08:44 What's more, it feels like the narrator has already won the day.
08:48 The number doesn't immediately scream Midnight's, which is an album that revisits, quote,
08:52 "sleepless nights scattered throughout Swift's life."
08:55 She doesn't seem to be losing much sleep over this foe. She's got him beat.
09:00 [Music]
09:04 Number 2. Getaway Car - Reputation - 1989
09:09 Reputation is, in part, an album of heroes and villains, with Swift herself often embodying an iconic villainous persona.
09:16 Her pen portraits here are generally pretty black and white, but Getaway Car definitely has more nuance.
09:22 [Music]
09:28 At its core, it tells a compelling tale of flawed antiheroes who should have known what they were getting into.
09:33 [Music]
09:37 It's surprisingly reflective, but also loads of fun with its pop culture references and exciting, mysterious energy.
09:43 Getaway Car is an evocative synth-pop track that calls back to the 80s in the best way.
09:48 [Music]
09:54 In other words, the 1989 vibes are strong with this acclaimed hit.
09:58 Can't you just picture seeing it nestled right between Style and Out of the Woods? It would be almost too good.
10:04 [Music]
10:09 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:13 Should Have Said No - Taylor Swift - Speak Now, Taylor's Version
10:17 An underrated classic that could have easily worked on a later album.
10:21 [Music]
10:27 Bejeweled - Midnight's - 1989
10:30 This pure pop diamond would shine on 1989.
10:34 [Music]
10:40 Gorgeous - Reputation - Lover
10:42 A prime candidate for this loving era.
10:45 [Music]
10:53 Betty - Folklore - Fearless - Taylor's Version
10:57 This teenage love story feels like a fearless song from a new perspective.
11:01 [Music]
11:06 Dancing With Our Hands Tied - Reputation - 1989
11:10 This definitely wouldn't feel out of place amid 1989 synth bops.
11:15 [Music]
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11:37 Number 1. Bad Blood - 1989 - Reputation
11:42 Any Swifty will remember how invigorated they felt when Bad Blood came out, with its music video only bolstering that energy.
11:49 [Music]
11:55 It was like lightning in a bottle, a difficult feeling to recreate.
11:58 But if anyone can conjure up that kind of magic multiple times, it's Taylor Swift.
12:03 Sure enough, along came Reputation a few years later.
12:06 [Music]
12:11 The old Taylor was pronounced dead.
12:13 But the more we thought about it, the more we realized we'd gotten a glimpse into the new one during the 1989 era.
12:19 [Music]
12:25 The 2014 album's eighth track sees Swift embracing fiercely rebellious behavior, singing about betrayal to the backdrop of pounding drums.
12:33 The sound, lyrics, and the video's aesthetic were all giving Reputation long before that album dropped.
12:39 [Music]
12:45 Which Taylor Swift song, if any, would you switch to a different album? And where would you put it? Let us know in the comments.
12:51 [Music]
12:54 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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13:03 [Music]