Red is by far Taylor's best album and I will forever stand by this fact.
Not only is it a lyrical masterpiece (except for maybe Starlight), it is Taylor's first time actually dealing with love. Before this album, she only wrote about what she imagined love to be like, but now she actually knows.
22. Starlight
This song is actual garbage. And, I would probably even like a song Taylor wrote about actual garbage. Seriously, who thought the lyric, "And I said oh my what a marvelous tune" was worthy of Taylor Swift.
21. Sad Beautiful Tragic
This song has great instrumentals, but it does not really make up for the fact that there is approximately twenty words used in this entire song.
20. The Moment I Knew
In this song, she actually complains for four minutes and twenty-three seconds about a boy not coming to her birthday party. Are you kidding me?? Taylor, if a boy coming to your party to see your red lipstick would feel like "a million little shinning stars that just aligned" you need to get your priorities in check.
19. Come Back...Be Here
This song is about feeling like she fell in love with a guy that she met about two weeks ago. And, how she is ~just devastated~ about "the plane that took him away". It is incredibly overdramatic for a guy she does not know.
18. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
Do not get me wrong. This song is a TRUE bop. But, the elementary level lyrics and rhyme scheme place it in the lower portion of our listicle.
17. I Knew You Were Trouble
This song makes Taylor take all the blame for dating a bad guy. You should never take fault for dating someone and hoping for the best in them. Also, it just is not the same without the interrupting goat.
16. Treacherous
The song is full of brilliant lyrics like "nothing safe is worth the drive" and "I'd be smart to walk away but you're quicksand." She takes on the same thematic idea of falling for someone who might not be good for you as in "I Knew You Were Trouble", but she does it in a more positive and less self-deprecating way.
15. I Almost Do
This song is about almost contacting an ex and wondering if they still think about you the way you think about them. It is sad, a bit depressing, but very genuine of Taylor. (Something we desperately miss in this Reputation era).
14. Girl At Home
This song berates men who try to make moves on Taylor, but they have a girlfriend. It truly calls out the awful behavior of cheating men to a VERY catchy tune.
13. Red
When played in concert, she talks about how this album represents strong emotions that she associates with the color red (#funfacts). I just do not know if this song is worthy of the album being named after it. It is not bad, it is just nothing special. But, it gets points for a well-worded chorus.
12. State of Grace
I am biased on this song because it is the opening song for her live concerts from the Red tour. And, this is exactly when I started crying #sorrynotsorry. Plus, the lyric, "We fall in love until it hurts or bleeds or fades in time" is true genius.
11. Holy Ground
This song is one of Taylor's more nuanced lyrical works. She is reflecting on a past relationship, but instead of associating the ex with seething emotions like her other works, she merely looks back fondly at the moment they had together.
10. State of Grace - Acoustic Version
Everything Taylor does with acoustics only is a masterpiece solely because you can really hear how much talent she has as a pianist and guitarist. Her handiwork on this song is as incredible as her breathy take on the song.
9. Red - Original Demo Recording
They royally messed up not making this the sole version of Red on the album. Unlike the otherwise flat previously mentioned version, this folk styled version has a quicker tempo that moves the song along and keeps it from feeling drawn out.
8. The Last Time
This might be a contentious placing, but the chorus and hook where Gary Lightbody and Taylor's voice harmonize on the lyric "you break my heart in the blink of an eye" gives me chills.
7. Stay Stay Stay
This song is one of Taylor's very few songs about a happy relationship. It is so cotton-candy cute and sweet. Also, her giggle at the end KILLS ME.
6. Everything Has Changed
Sorry Gary, but Ed Sheeran's collab with Taylor is by far superior to any of her other collabs. If it was not enough to have two incredible songwriters work together on one song, the music video of their two mini-mes could alone land them in sixth place.
5. Treacherous - Original Demo Recording
Her focus in this song on clapping and stomping to imitate drums add for a much more acoustic experience. It makes the song feel much more raw and real. She also goes up an octave in the hook of the song that makes for a dreamier experience.
4. 22
Not only are the lyrics of this song great for instagram captions, it offers a girl power anthem that until this moment Taylor lacked. It shows the importance of your friends throughout all life's obstacles.
3. The Lucky One
This commentary on Taylor's internal feelings about being in the spotlight are heart breaking. Usually, her songs about the media are tongue-in-cheek witty, but this one is hauntingly real and personal. You feel for her when she says "you don't feel pretty, you just feel used".
2. Begin Again
This song is about starting over and putting yourself out there after a devastating heartbreak. Her resilience in the belief that you can fall in love again gives hope to all college kids suffering their first rounds of major break ups.
1. All Too Well
In case I have not raved about this song enough, here it is once again as my favorite. Group prayer this new album's ten minute song is the extended uncut version of "All Too Well".
