Taylor Swift Albums in Order

Taylor Swift’s album release order was complicated by the introduction of her Taylor’s Versions. Still, the re-releases represent the powerhouse artist reclaiming her early musical legacy on her terms.

Taylor Swift burst onto the pop scene in 2006 with her country-influenced debut album, quickly establishing herself as one of the world’s biggest pop stars, and each of her releases has been a smash hit.

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Taylor Swift Albums Discography

Taylor Swift is an American singer-songwriter who has released ten original studio albums, four re-recorded studio albums, five extended plays, and four live albums. She has sold an estimated 114 million album units worldwide, with 37.3 million in the United States and 3.34 million in the United Kingdom.

Her albums have sold 51 million certified units in the United States, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). She is the female artist with the most weeks (66) at number one on the US Billboard 200 as of December 2023.

Swift’s famous battle with her original label, Big Machine Records, was exacerbated when her former producer, Scooter Braun, purchased her catalog in 2019 (via The New York Times).

Taylor Swift now owns only a few of her albums because she switched labels, prompting her to embark on her ambitious plan to re-record the albums she released while on Big Machine. Swift has reclaimed ownership of her earlier albums, Taylor’s Versions, by re-recording them as full-length records now that she is signed to Universal Music Group.

Taylor Swift Albums in Order

1. Taylor Swift (2006)
2. Fearless (2008)
3. Speak Now (2010)
4. Red (2012)
5. 1989 (2014)
6. Reputation (2017)
7. Lover (2019)
8. folklore (2020)
9. evermore (2020)
10. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2021)
11. Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021)
12. Midnights (2022)
13. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (2023)
14. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (2023)

Taylor Swift (2006)

Swift’s debut album was released when she was only a teenager, and it showcased her early country music influences in a way that was almost unrecognizable to her modern hits. Singles such as “Teardrops on My Guitar” and “Tim McGraw” were seminal songs in the emerging country pop genre, and the album produced singles until 2008.

Fearless (2008)

Swift’s country roots were still evident in Fearless, but songs like “You Belong With Me” not only incorporated more pop but also set the tone for her love gone wrong theme.

Speak Now (2010)

Taylor Swift’s third studio album, Speak Now, demonstrated maturity in the singer/songwriter and was a concept album about growing up. Speak Now flew off the shelves, continuing her impressive album sales, and by 2020, it had been certified six times platinum.

Red (2012)

Red, released in 2012, represented the singer/songwriter’s final push towards mainstream radio pop. Taylor Swift’s fourth album, generally considered one of her more naughty, clearly broadened her horizons.

Anthems such as “I Knew You Were Trouble”, “22”, and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” completely transformed her sound. She was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys, and it went platinum seven times (via RIAA) before her previous albums.

1989 (2014)

Despite winning Album of the Year, 1989 divided critics, some criticizing her commercialization. On the other hand, Swift had finally come into her own as the new Queen of Pop.

Reputation (2017)

Taylor Swift embraced a much darker persona on Reputation. This dramatic transformation was likely a response to the public turmoil triggered by her feuds with the Kardashians and Kanye West, with the new music reflecting a deeper introspection and emotional rawness.

Lover (2019)

Lover, which reintroduced earlier influences, was a step back from her rising pop queen status and revealed a happier and healthier artist in general. Singles like “You Need To Calm Down” poked fun at her detractors, but the album was intended to be more subdued than her previous records.

Folklore (2020)

Folklore, co-produced by indie rock pioneer and The National guitarist Aaron Dessner, was another major shift for Taylor Swift as she delved headfirst into her indie-folk influences.

Swift traded in her love gone wrong themes for a more heady and introspective look at herself during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Evermore (2020)

Folklore was a continuation of her collaboration with Dessner. The stripped-down evermore maintained her cinematic approach to storytelling.

Even enlisting The National on the single “Coney Island” and perennial indie favorites on “No Body, No Crime.” The album debuted at number one and received a Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year.

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2021)

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) in 2021 was Swift’s first attempt to reclaim her musical legacy following the Big Machine catalog defeat in 2019.

The album features a complete re-recording of the classic songs and a few vault tracks originally left on the cutting room floor.

With permission to re-record her music, Taylor Swift is on a mission to reclaim her songs. She’s already hard at work polishing up the instrumentations and mixes that fell short on the original albums.

Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021)

Red (Taylor’s Version), which left nothing out, was a complete passion project that demonstrated Swift’s dedication to her brand. In addition to re-recording the songs, charity singles, and bonus tracks, Red (Taylor’s Version) featured guest vocals from artists such as Phoebe Bridgers and Christ Stapleton.

Swift also released a 10-minute version of “All Too Well,” which gave the hit song much-needed context.

Midnights (2022)

Taylor Swift took a break from resurrecting her old standards with 2022’s Midnights, a moody and introspective concept album that continued the themes of her previous two studio albums.

“Anti-Hero” revealed a new side of Swift, with the Queen of Pop appearing vulnerable and human as she drew inspiration from the rising popularity of moody bedroom pop artists.

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (2023)

Taylor Swift returned to her re-recording streak with the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in 2023, delving deeper into her musical past. Swift not only brought back all of the old tunes but also added new musical influences that incorporated other sounds not previously heard on the original record.

1989 (Taylor’s Version) (2023)

Taylor Swift announced the release of her next Taylor’s Version record, 1989, in the midst of her record-breaking era tour. Swift now has the opportunity to reframe her pop era into something more meaningful and subtly tweak the recordings of some of her most popular songs.

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Conclusion

Taylor Swift’s albums demonstrate her creativity, genre versatility, and ability to connect with various audiences. Each album represents a different stage in her life, demonstrating her remarkable transformation from country music to a global pop icon.