It’s the week of April 19, which means we’ve made it. New Taylor Swift music will hit the airwaves on Friday with the release of The Tortured Poets Department. It’s Swift’s 11th studio album and has been highly anticipated since the singer-songwriter announced it at the Grammy Awards.
MORE: All the Taylor Swift Tortured Poets Department bonus tracks and variations that have been announced
In order to prepare for the onslaught of new music, we are taking on the frankly impossible challenge of ranking the 14-time Grammy winner’s 40 best songs. This is the opposite of whatever you would deem scientific as this list would likely shift slightly if we undertook the same project next week.
Let’s get to it. Here are songs 30-21. Each day before the album release, we’ll give you the next 10 until we get to No. 1. Click here to see songs 40-31 and our rankings of 30 through 21.
20. The Archer
Album: Lover
The back and forth of a relationship. Being the hunter. Being the prey. Not feeling good enough but wanting to hold on to what you have. It’s devastating.
Best Lyric:
Combat, I’m ready for combat
I say I don’t want that, but what if I do?
‘Cause cruelty wins in the movies
I’ve got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you
19. invisible string
Album: folklore
Sometimes it just feels like you’re exactly where you’re meant to be, and “invisible string” details the sometimes inexplicable way your life ties together.
Best Lyric:
Cold was the steel of my axe to grind
For the boys who broke my heart
Now I send their babies presentsGold was the color of the leaves
When I showed you around Centennial Park
Hell was the journey but it brought me heaven
18. Anti-Hero
Album: Midnights
This might be too low for “Anti-Hero,” but we’re getting really deep into “all these songs are really good” territory. The lead single off Midnights is catchy and upbeat, but dives into insecurities and anxieties that are extremely relatable. Hi, it’s me. I’m the problem, it’s me.
Best Lyric:
Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism
Like some kind of congressman? (Tale as old as time)
I wake up screaming from dreaming
One day I’ll watch as you’re leaving
And life will lose all its meaning
17. Would've, Could've, Should've
Album: Midnights
Viewed as a successor to Speak Now‘s “Dear John,” “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” is a heartbreaking look at a relationship with an older man when Swift was just 19. It’s powerful and emotional and lyrically evocative.
Best Lyric:
If clarity’s in death, then why won’t this die?
Years of tearing down our banners, you and I
Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts
Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first
16. Long Live
Album: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
Legacy is the name of the game for “Long Live” as Swift takes us on a nostalgic narrative about creating memories and leaving a lasting impression. There’s something so powerful about the Eras Tour crowds losing their minds as she sings “Tell them how the crowds went wild.”
Best Lyric:
If you have children someday
When they point to the pictures
Please tell them my name
Tell them how the crowds went wild
Tell them how I hope they shine
15. august
Album: folklore
Oh, summer love. This folklore hit details the ebbs and flows of a fleeting affair, but it also had a huge moment on TikTok as users made videos with the audio paired with dramatic tracked running as the bridge played.
Best Lyric:
Back when we were still changin’ for the better
Wanting was enough
For me, it was enough
To live for the hope of it all
Cancel plans just in case you’d call
And say, “Meet me behind the mall”
So much for summer love and saying “us”
‘Cause you weren’t mine to lose
You weren’t mine to lose, no
14. You're On Your Own Kid
Album: Midnights
The song that sparked a million friendship bracelets. What seemed like a throwaway line became a cultural moment that took over the country as the Eras Tour made its way from city to city. Now they’ve become synonymous with Swifties.
Best Lyric:
‘Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned
Everything you lose is a step you take
So make the friendship bracelets
Take the moment and taste it
You’ve got no reason to be afraid
13. Karma
Album: Midnights
Taylor Swift keeps her side of the street clean. “Karma” is an absolute bop that basically says the justice of the universe will come for you if you try to drag her down. Plus now we have the moments of her changing the lyrics from “Karma is the guy on the screen” to “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs” in reference to boyfriend Travis Kelce.
Best Lyric:
Cause karma is my boyfriend
Karma is a god
Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend
Karma’s a relaxing thought
Aren’t you envious that for you it’s not?
12. Enchanted (Taylor's Version)
Album: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
If you don’t scream sing “please don’t be in love with someone else” during the back half of this song, we cannot be friends. Swift perfectly encapsulates the giddy feeling of meeting someone that has the potential to change your life, and then the follow-up feelings of being totally consumed in re-living the moment.
Best Lyric:
The lingering question kept me up
2 AM, who do you love?
I wonder ’til I’m wide awake
And now I’m pacing back and forth
Wishing you were at my door
I’d open up and you would say, “Hey”It was enchanting to meet you
All I know is, I was enchanted to meet you
11. Blank Space (Taylor's Version)
Album: 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
This song is fantastic. It’s inspired by the endless speculations over Swift’s love life, and she turns it on its head to make an incredibly catchy song.
Best Lyric:
New money, suit and tie
I can read you like a magazine
Ain’t it funny? Rumors fly
And I know you heard about me
So hey, let’s be friends
I’m dying to see how this one ends
Grab your passport and my hand
I can make the bad guys good for a weekend
