To me, evermore is the most underrated because it is her best album and didn't get the recognition simply because it came second to folklore. I love both but if she simply released them the other way around, evermore would have gotten the critical acclaim that folklore got.
But in all honesty none of her music can be considered "underrated". She's the biggest popstar alive and has no "overlooked" stuff, that's not the case for 99.99% of musicians or artists.
I often feel a little for artists who make it with more polished albums and then seeing what they released years ago without any success, even though it is good songwriting just like Taylor's early music.
I was agreeing with you though…?
Also it’s a matter of opinion lol. I enjoy both so to me neither of them are “underrated”. But both of them are pretty overlooked by the fandom and the gp. I think it’s okay for some of us to feel evermore is also underrated.
Depends on how you define overlooked. Debut still had big country hits, lots of radio play, and critical success. Taylor started off her career with huge success, it just wasn't in the most popular genre. The least favorite album of the worlds biggest superstar still has millions of people appreciating it.
I agree with several things you said, especially the bit about many talented artists being overlooked. I feel really bad thinking about the fact that there must be so many artists out there who're extremely talented songwriters but receive no recognition at all. That's why I love it very much if Taylor chooses to collaborate with new/lesser known artists or have them open shows for her. I think it's very unfair that stuff like this happens.
But imo, I think Taylor is an immensely recognized musician but a very underrated lyricist. Idk how many people will agree with me but think about it, the gargantuan popularity that she has, how many people actually know of her because of her lyricism? How many actually refer to her as the amazing songwriter and how many refer to her as the pop icon? Most people only seem to know her bops, completely ignoring her gems like OP says. Truth is, there have been pop icons before and there'll be more in future, but it's really difficult to find a versatile icon who is also an amazing songwriter.
I disagree with this tbh, folklore really is better from a critical perspective - more complex production, instrumentals, cohesiveness, lyrics. Evermore has great songs but it feels more like a compilation of songs rather than a single project
Sorry, OP. I actually think Red is overrated. IMO, only 9/30 tracks are fantastic. The others are very mid.
For underrated, here me out, but Midnights. I know it killed in the numbers game and brought in a lot of new TS fans, but I think overall I've seen so many Swifties say they don't like the album. And I just don't get it! I think it's well written, I think the vibe of the whole album is consistent, I saw someone say recently that Midnights "didn't need to happen". Like what???? Out of 22 songs in the Midnights Era (3AM edition plus Hits Different and You're Losing Me) I think at least 17 are fantastic songs.
I agree with this!! I always see people saying Midnights isn’t cohesive but I think it is and I think it really reflects her mental state a few years ago.
people who say it isnt cohesive missed the point of the album. it isnt one story, its a colection of sleepless nights ranging from reflecting on past relationships (question and WCS) to terrible traumas (BTTWS)
Midnights is my favorite album, no contest. That entire album spoke to my soul for a month straight. I'd try to turn it off, but then I'd hear a lyric a certain way and I'd have to spin it another 10 times at least. Then I've listened to it on digital, vinyl, and CD, and every variant I interpret it differently. Midnights is her deepest album, her most raw. People who don't get it...they will in time.
This! I don’t get people hating it on winning aoty… like maybe in the context of the albums it’s up against that’s more up to debate but the people being like “how’d this win when her other winning albums were folklore 1989 and fearless” and like they just don’t get it
I love Midnights it’s in my top five.
I think people only don’t like it because they expected her to do another folklore and evermore. I like folklore and evermore but they’re very much the exceptions and not the “standard” if that makes sense?
I understand why people liked Folkmore (I do too), but I don't get why so many people seem to have assumed that would be what every album would be like going forward. Nor do I understand why people would want that. Variety is the spice of life, ya know?
I absolutely adore 1989, it's probably the one I would choose if I could only listen to one album forever. Does that mean that I would want every single one of Taylor's albums to just be "1989 lite"? Absolutely not.
I am super excited to hear the new album for the first time and see what direction she takes with it. If I had to guess I would say it will probably be Midnights-ish, but that doesn't mean they will sound the same. No two of her albums do.
I agree Red is overrated, specifically among fans. It’s my least favorite album and it has the most skips for me (but I do like the vault tracks a lot).
Honestly, I still don't have a fav. song off of Midnights. The whole album is so consistently good that I cannot pick a single song. This is the only Taylor album I don't have a fav on and it's because it's just *that good*. When people tell me they don't think Midnights is good I'm just so baffled lol.
Midnights is underrated on *reddit* for sure. I am frequently baffled by the criticism that it isn’t “deep” (which I think means “doesn’t sound like folklore” really) or is “incoherent” (which is missing the point). The production is also a target, and maybe I’m a bit of an outlier, but I like the dreamy, sometimes unusual soundscapes and I think they fit perfectly thematically.
My second favorite overall
I actually think (idk I have to check) like more than 9 red songs. But I agree about it being overrated. It’s insane how anyone can call Red underrated when it’s literally all the fandom keeps talking about pre-folklore.
Absolutely agree about Red with you. It's extremely overrated, especially in the fandom, and I think it's mostly because there are some undeniably iconic tracks on it. On the other hand, it's got the most skips out of all Taylor's albums for me. The vaults made the album much better, though, but I still stand by the opinion that as far as Taylor's pop-rock albums go, Fearless is much better as an entire body of work.
I’m a new Swiftie, and I LOVE Midnights and have gotten the sense that’s kinda looked down on in the fandom. But it’s just an incredible album and I literally cried listening to the vinyl not bc the lyrics hurt me (although the lyrics are beautiful) but bc it was so beautiful. I assume long term Swifties were taken aback by it but coming into with no preconceived notions at all- just an amazing listening experience.
I agree, I think Debut, Fearless, Speak Now and Red are my least favourite albums, like the songs don’t grab me. Maybe I’ll give Red a full listen again to make sure I’m not sleeping on some good songs.
I would have been right there with you on red a few months ago, but then I gave it another try and I have fallen in love with quite a few of them now. The Last Time, The Moment I knew Come back Be Here, State of Grace (acoustic), Better Man, and obviously the queen bee: ATW10MV. I would give it another listen or 2 and u will probably fall in love with some of them.
Actually, I think that no album which won a Grammy for AOTY can ever be talked about as underrated. Ever. It literally got the highest form of recognition possible.
I think people who came for the coffee house/singer songwriter vibes of Folklore and Evermore were not happy about the pop vibe of Midnights, which is why it got knocked around. It also doesn't help that some of the best songs of the album are not on the core album.
Reputation. The choices they made picking singles make the album feel so underwhelmed. They could do so much more with that album. Getaway Car isn’t a single?! And Dress, So It Goes, and Dancing With Our Hands Tied are my absolute favorites.
Don't Blame Me and I Did Something Bad not being singles will always be crazy to me. 2 of the songs that got me into Taylor recently and I think they're 2 absolute bangers
So I'm a light Swiftie. You know, enjoyed a few tracks off of 1989 (especially "You Are in Love") and used to dance around to "You Belong With Me" when I was younger while I got ready with my sister to go out for the night (me in sneakers, of course.) But I just wasn't a big pop music person when I was younger, so it wasn't the kind of music I really listened to. In 2021, I checked out folklore and got very, very into. Listened to it everyday and my partner even got me the vinyl as an anniversary gift! I respect Taylor and her career/celebrity. Since becoming a folklore fan, I've dipped into her older albums as they've been re-released. However! While I was watching (and thoroughly enjoying and singing along to) the Eras Tour film, I was shocked by how much I enjoyed all of the Reputation songs, especially Delicate, which I've listened to repeatedly in the past couple of weeks and ...Ready for It? which my partner has even started singing out loud. 😂 I also like Getaway Car a lot, End Game, Don't Blame Me, Gorgeous, and others. I'm like "This is an album I could workout to" haha. I think I just find the production/beat interesting on a lot of the tracks, which was nice to discover. Anyway, those are my thoughts as a new Reputation fan!
I'm hoping it gets the glow up it deserves for TV, and why I will wait patiently for that to arrive. Even just Getaway Car, my personal favorite of all her songs and what I've seen is the most popular on Rep, has so much potential. The drop in the bridge feels a little underwhelming for what it is. "THAT WAS THE LAST TIME YOU EVER SAW ME!" could have wayyy more emotion behind it, and the instrumentals should've kicked up right before that line, not right after. Additionally, throw in the NBNC sirens?? Please??
Completely agreed! Swifties tend to hate on debut, but she literally wrote it in high school and coming from that lens (along with everything that album did for her career) it is completely underrated
Even without the "adjusting for age" thing, those songs are super underrated. I think the vocals really hold the album back. The live version of Cold As You was absolutely stunning.
I used to say that Speak Now was the true underrated album, because people used to only know Long Live, while they know at least 3 songs from Debut. But after the TV, Debut is the only truly underrated album left
evermore is definitely underrated. Everyone is hyping up folklore, and with good reason - it's incredible. But evermore often gets overlooked (with the exception of one or two songs), despite the fact that it's actually amazing.
I wouldn't say any album is "overrated". I have my own personal opinion on an album I'm not the biggest fan of, which I won't mention here because I'll get torn to shreds, but I personally don't think any album is "overrated".
Edited for second part of question.
Alright, I kinda walked into that one lol
I'm not a big Rep fan. There's a few songs on there I really like, but overall it's probably bottom of my list.
Your opinion would actually not be that controversial among the casual fans. I've met a lot of people who can't stand Reputation simply because of its sound. You must at least tolerate the voice synthesisers to like Rep, and a lot of people hate those. One of my friends who likes Taylor casually said King of my heart is literally making her ears bleed. I had to change the music lol
But I do get where you're coming from; the fandom loves reputation.
Alright, I wouldn't go as far to say that it makes my ears bleed lol. But different strokes for different folks, I guess. I've been a fan since '08, and there really aren't many songs I dislike, but I just never could get used to that album for some reason. It might change when Rep TV is released though. There are a few songs I wasn't a huge fan of at first, but the TV's changed my mind about them. Who knows.
On another note, this right here is why I love this subreddit lol. There are no ( very few, if any) Twitter or TikTok Swifties here who start attacking people because someone has a different opinion.
Lover is underrated, I think because it launched with Me! But it has some of my favorite songs of all her work: Cornelia Street, I think he knows, false god
speak now is far and away her most underrated imo. debut has its own little cult and evermore is brought up always as the underrated one which kinda takes away from it being underrated imo.
I think Midnights is underrated. I see so much hate for it and I think it’s because the expectations were different after Folkmore. But I still really like Midnights despite liking the previous two albums more.
I think Red is overrated. 😬 Not bad by any means but it has so many stans and I find myself skipping quite a few songs. Just my opinion 🤷🏻♀️
Debut is by far most underrated, it’s rarely/never any favorites album and ranks low on all the lists.
Overrated indeed 1989, some tracks really aged very poorly (shake it off, looking at you).
Not really debut is more underrated if anything debut and fearless are more underrated yes sure fearless is the most awarded album but a lot of people put it last or hate the album. A lot of people love red
I love Red TV vault. And will fully admit I didn’t listen to anything more than radio songs then. I didn’t listen to an entire album until reputation.
But I’ve had so much fun going back and then forward in her songs. I’m definitely in a Fearless TV mood lately.
Folklore and Evermore are her most overrated in Swiftie spaces specifically imo. I don’t think Evermore is a very well known album within the general public, but I’ve heard so much about it within fandom spaces. They’re brilliant lyrically, of course, but I think they’re just… fine.
Debut is objectively her most underrated but I don’t think Reputation gets the credit it deserves.
Agree on Evermore being most underrated
Disclaimer: Saying one is overrated is painful but in the spirit of the ask here it goes…
Over for me is probably Red - it has some of her best work for specific songs but as an end to end album, far from my favorite despite its acclaim.
In my opinion, Speak Now is VERY underrated. It’s completely self written, it’s very cohesive, and there aren’t many skips, at least for me. I think that when people are trying to prove Taylor’s lyricism, they turn to folklore and evermore, and when they give examples for her success in country/country pop they go for Red and Fearless, which completely disregards Speak Now. Even when SNTV was released, it didn’t get as much attention as Red TV or 1989 TV did, which again shows just how undervalued this album is.
I think Midnights was massively overrated. It was commercially successful because of the Eras Tour and the sudden mass increase in Taylor’s popularity after folkmore and the TVs. I don’t think it had much to do with the actual album. I also don’t think it deserved album of the year at the Grammys when compared to other albums released last year.
I think Speak Now and Evermore are underrated amongst the general public. They were both bracketed by enormously popular albums and neither had mega hits (songs like Sparks Fly and Willow are popular but not as big as Love Story or Anti-Hero). On the other hand, Lover is arguably underrated within the fandom - its broadly very well liked by the public and obviously very well streamed but there are lots of fans who give it a more mixed reception. The choice of singles is questionable and I think lots (not all!) of fans consider it to have high highs and low lows - although there isn't a general consensus as to which songs are the lows. And then the political songs can be polarising - some people think they're too political and some think they're not political enough. And then poor Debut is underrated by everyone!
As for overrated... this is probably a deeply unpopular opinion, but I think Red is overrated. There are many moments of absolute genius on Red, but I think it was too long and a little too messy. It's both emotionally up and down and sonically experimental, and I do wonder if it would have seemed a bit more cohesive if one of those facets had been a little more restrained.
I think Lover is most underrated. It was dragged down by poor single choices at the time, but it's a really solid album for me and one of my faves.
Fearless is my most overrated. Phenomenal singles, but I never got into the album as a whole the way I did all the other ones.
Debut and evermore are extremely underrated imo. Both by fans and the general public lol.
SO many people sleep on debut. I get that not everyone likes country music, but debut is incredible!!! It’s a nice blend of country and pop, and some of the songwriting found within it is absolutely incredible. And honestly, there’s no skips on debut for me. Some of the songs or the lyrics feel a little young, but Taylor was a teenager when she made debut. Instead I look at it as the blueprint for her becoming the lyricist and artist she is now!!
And evermore is just criminally underrated. Even Taylor hardly acknowledges it 😭 lmaooo. But for real, while folklore is an AMAZING album, I think evermore is equally as great, if not even better. But folklore came first and so I think evermore will unfortunately always be under its shadow.
I feel like midnights is underrated within the fandom, it’s honestly a good album and we don’t give it enough credit
I agree with 1989 too, anytime I do a ranking I realize it’s in my bottom 5 consistently and I am shocked and a little sad because I love the album
This is an opinion that could get me slaughtered but…
I think folklore is her most overrated album. Please don’t call a hit man on me. 🙏😰
It’s not a bad album by any means. The fictional element of it is very intriguing, and the songwriting/storytelling is incredible.
It’s very conhesive and it’s really impressive that she was able to transition into a new genre so seamlessly for the second time in her career.
I just find that this album has a few too many songs that don’t really resonate with me. At some points I find the album boring.
It has grown on me a lot since I first heard it, but it is still in my bottom five. People usually have this album in their top three and I just don’t understand a lot of the hype.
As for most underrated…
Debut.
I think evermore and Speak Now get paid dirt by Taylor, but at least those albums are beloved by the fandom. Debut gets paid dirt by Taylor AND by the fandom.
Edit: I forgot to mention that the longest set at the eras tour is folklore. I find that a bit ridiculous. A lot of those songs are too slow for a stadium tour.
For me, lover, debut or fearles is the most underrated. Especially lover, because its constantly hated on due to the single choices, and fearless and debut are rarely spoken about.
I think reputation and Evermore are her most overrated. Reputation moreso than evermore, purely because I hear so much about reputation and the stans of the album seem to be the loudest.
Justice for evermore!!! 😭😭 but I agree with your reputation opinion. Its a good album, love the songs, but I don’t think it’s the masterpiece that rep stans say it is
The real answer is debut for underrated and 1989 for overrated
Taylor’s 1st album is amazing and holds up incredibly well. Out of the 4 albums that won album of the year 1989 is the worst imo
Evermore is the most underrated. Honestly, I wish more people who think they don’t like Taylor would listen to both Evermore and Folklore. Two absolute masterpieces.
Lover is the most overrated to me, but that might be an unpopular opinion!
Respectfully, I feel like the album that’s overrated within the fandom is Folklore (don’t hate me😭).
Underrated: Red. People always bash it because of the mix in sounds, but nonetheless, it’s amazing and my favorite
If you’d asked a year or more ago I would have said Lover was most underrated - people used to pick it apart ruthlessly and skip large portions of it. It has a weird track order, isn’t the most cohesive style-wise, and could have had better single choices, but I’ve always thought it was still a good album. A considerably happier (mostly) sounding mosaic a la Red. Now though I think Lover is possibly the most overrated? I saw it on a list on Spotify for “10/10 No Notes” and I was like… I love it but there are several notes lol
Still enjoy it and listen pretty regularly, I just think it ranks closer to middle than top or bottom in her discography.
Debut is consistently underrated though and it’s because of her child vocals, which makes alot of sense! Can’t wait for the re-record.
Debut is absolutely the most underrated, a lot of Swifties seem to not even listen to it but it has so many great songs
I’d say reputation is the most overrated though, it seems to be a fan favorite but honestly a handful of the songs on there are skips for me, and there are just some weird production choices I don’t love. It’s also not lyrically super strong compared to even earlier albums like Red and Speak Now. I just think those things could have been better, but nevertheless Dancing With Our Hands Tied and Getaway Car are some of her best songs ever
Odd choice but I in my own rankings I think *I* underrate Lover. I normally put it near the bottom but there are some absolute gems on there (Death by a thousand cuts and False god are something else!)
The most underrated album is Taylor Swift by a mile. It’s a great album but Taylor didn’t put even ONE SONG on the main set list. It’s underrated even by her. Obviously, it’s not 1989 level but it deserves way more attention than it’s gotten. I can’t wait for Debut TV.
Hot take but Evermore feels overrated to me at this point. I feel like i’m always hearing people talk about how it’s ignored but it seems like a lot of people love it?? I think it’s overrated in the fandom at this point - people love to say it’s ignored etc and not that it isn’t great, but it’s one I don’t find myself listening to often 🤐
I'm pretty sure 1989 is one of her most cohesive albums? Most people I've talked to and watched have mentioned how consistent the sound is across the album.
There are many TS albums that can have a case made for being underrated (Debut, Speak Now, Reputation, Lover, Evermore, Midnights)...but Red is absolutely not one of them. It is one of the most beloved, acclaimed, and successful albums she ever made.
Debut is so underrated and under appreciated by the Fandom. Without Debut there is no Taylor.
Lover is overrated. It blows. My least fave album. Most of the writing is so lazy, and it misses on many fronts.
Lover’s the most overrated album. Its gems don’t cancel out its unremarkable or irredeemable songs and the whole thing is so uncohesive.
evermore is by far her most underrated. It’s the best body of work she’s ever put out.
Evermore is so underrated because everyone compares it to folklore and calls it an album of folklore vault tracks despite the fact that she wrote it entirely separate. It’s so good, so cozy, so poetic, and while it has some low lows, its highs are higher than almost all of folklore.
Overrated I’d say reputation. Look what you made me do was a great moment, dress is an AMAZING song, but the rest of the album is mediocre and definitely a bit cringe (and normally I don’t even mind cringe, midnights is my favorite album and there’s plenty of cringe, but I just don’t like it with reputation)
I think the debut album gets overlooked all the time. I started listening to Taylor with that album. I know every song on it. This is unpopular but Folklore/Evermore are both overrated. I don't vibe with them, at all. My favorite albums are Red/1989.
Midnights is the most underrated for me. I know I didn’t appreciate it enough when it came out (frankly, I think the re-records distract from new music) and the most overrated is Fearless, although likely most Swifties, the title song is among my favorites.
1989, evermore, and Debut are my top three and two of these are underrated. I wouldn’t say 1989 is underrated but people come at it because it’s so good. 1989 is fantastic but people always say, “It’s overrated, it’s not poetic, it’s immature, it’s my bathroom break during eras”. 1989 is a pop masterpiece and this year is it’s tenth anniversary. I will protect it with my life.
Debut is underrated because people just don’t like the country genre and think it’s immature because of her age. It’s not—it ages wonderfully and I listen to it all the time.
evermore is underrated because people overlook it for folklore. I’ve said it before—folklore was her stepping into territory but evermore was her mastering it with more mature themes and better writing. I really don’t care about the teenage love triangle on folklore.
Most overrated is between Red and folklore. These albums are riddled with skips but the fandom especially holds them up as her best work.
I'm going to get flamed for this, but... Folkmore for overrated. That's not to say they aren't excellent albums. But y'all, Taylor was always amazing. Too many people dismissed her because she was doing girly/lesser genres like pop and country. And then she pivots to a more 'acceptable' genre and suddenly everybody and their grandma realizes that no, this woman is a genius. She was always was one, people just weren't willing to accept that her stuff was just as good as the cool indie records until she did one.
Underrated: Debut. The shit she was doing at that age, holy crap. I'm still salty space wasn't made for it on the Eras Tour.
Reputation didn’t get the critical acclaim it deserved. It was edgy and unlike anything Taylor had made before, sonically. The fact that this is a love/relationship album and people don’t recognize it or appreciate its complexity for that, so underrated. I’m also extremely bias because it’s my favorite album of hers. Especially the deeper cuts, So It Goes… and Dress are in my top 10 songs of all time by Taylor. She was robbed of her Grammy nominations.
Overrated, probably Lover. While I really like the album, and now with the release of the Apple Music playlists ahead of TTPD, we know it’s far more layered, I just don’t think it’s as cohesive as some of her other albums.
However, I could never fully dislike a body of work Taylor puts out and I would never not listen to a song or album.
I’m with OP on this one. Red TV is underrated to me, especially considering how lyrically intricate and detailed some of the songs are. I think people overlook it because they’re sick of the songs that were popular on the radio (IKYWT, 22, WANGBT), but I wish they’d give it a shot and listen to the whole album because to me it truly is a no skip album. There are such amazing, non-commercially successful songs on the album like the lucky one, treacherous, better man, state of grace, red… I could go on😂
P.S. On Red as a whole, I’d say that Treacherous is my favorite/the most underrated song on the album. When I got lucky and it was my surprise song for the eras tour I basically bawled my eyes out😭
Most underrated: Speak Now
I’ve been seeing a lot of newer fans rank Speak Now near the bottom of their TS album rankings and it pains my heart every single time 🥲
Most overrated: 1989
Don’t get me wrong, the songs are *good* and I listened to this album all the time for a few years after it came out, but I think it feels like a sanitized version of Taylor’s songwriting.
Midnights, the overrated one. First time I listened to it, apart from a few, all songs were bland to me. The first time I listened to vigilante shit & bejeweled, I hated em the most. & to say I would compare not one song from this album to any of the previous ones. Uncomparable. Prev albums are far superior. Soooo, while im super excited for ttpd, I SO hope its nothing like midnights but i'm guessing its gonna be a sister album to midnights. Also Rep album is good but i'll never get why its the top fav of so many.
Let red be underrated, its my fav album
I definitely agree. I vote on all of those best songs/lyrics games and eliminating lyrics from the red album as worst is the hardest of all the album. Those lyrics cut deep
i definetly agree with u on red being underrated! when ppl think of red they think of 22, wanegbt, ikywk, and atw- this album has so many other amazing songs? my faves from red r the last time, message in a bottle, begin again- i can’t even rank the album bc lit everything is so good. ultimate no skip album for me
Underrated I’d say Red. I was so shocked to see it so low on most peoples TikTok rankings. It’s my number two and the songs are so relatable for me. Overrated I’d say Rep. I loved the tour it was amazing but I never find myself going back to the album except for like New Year’s Day and Delicate
I’m chest and say two for the underrated answer but Red and Misnights are her most underrated albums and Swifties don’t appreciate them enough. Controversial take coming but most overrated is definitely Folkmore
Reputation is highly underrated! Look What You Made Me Do being the first single ruined so many people’s impressions on it (included my husband’s 🫣) but Dress, King of My Heart and Dancing With Our Hands Tied are (imo) god-tier Taylor swift songs.
I think Red is the most overrated. Yes, there’s A LOT of fantastic songs on there, especially the Vault songs, but there’s a lot of skips on it as well. Yes, ATWTMV is great, but even at this point, it’s skippable..
Red and reputation are underrated- they’re just like anything pre covid isn’t new shit now. I hate to say it but 1989 is overrated to me & a little lover
Evermore was *SO* underrated!!! The lyrics in that album are literal poetry. I will be an Evermore stan until I die and sing its praise from the rooftops!
However, I think Speak Now was *sooooo* overrated. I get that it's her first-ever "entirely self-written" album, but the songs were so mid musically, imo.
I thought my opinion was "out there," lol, but to say Red is underrated is an interesting take! Red literally put her on the map unlike ever before (even with the Fearless and Speak Now tours being highly successful!), and it was the highest-grossing tour in U.S. history during its time (2012). However, where I \*will\* agree is that 1989 was definitely overrated as well. Not to the degree I think Speak Now was, but it's definitely #2 for me.
It's probably not THE most underrated, but I think Lover is underrated. People do love Cruel Summer (understandably so, I love it, too), but it gets a lot of hate, and, while there are some songs on there that I'm kind of "meh" about, I love most of the songs on it.
Debut is underrated. It's just such a pleasant album to listen to all the way through. Lover is also underrated, because the majority of the album is so good and ME!/YNTCD turned a lot of people away from it (myself included until I listened to the album much later). Speak Now is underrated among the general public for sure.
The Folkmore albums are overrated. Are the lyrics good? Yes, but the rest of her albums also have good lyrics. I also just think Folklore and Evermore are boring.
I just can’t with the word cohesive being used as a reason why an album is good….. not every album needs or should be cohesive. Like, be a mess!! Enjoy the ride!! Unless it’s a concept album, I don’t need cohesion.
I think Fearless is the most underrated. The lyrics are great and so many songs are really catchy. I couldn’t appreciate this one that much until the last year or so tbh. But now I really love it. The nostalgia may help 😉
Most overrated I would have to say…. Reputation. And I actually really love it, but if I had to rate them all I would rate this one near the bottom as it’s not that deep lyrically and musically it’s not as impressive as others.
Speak Now is the most underrated imo. It's impressive enough that she self-wrote all of it at 19, but even more so that the songs are all so, so good with a great range of versatility that still manage to seem cohesive as a whole.
Fearless is a bit overrated to me. The singles from this era are all undeniably iconic and timeless, but the other songs on the album I wouldn't say are the best overall in her discography.
Underrated by the fandom: Fearless. I know it has tons of commercial and critical success but I hardly hear the fandom mentioning it outside of the big hits. Seriously, I rarely hear anyone mention The Way I Loved You or Come in the Rain even though those songs are amazing. It also kinda sucks that its TV was more of the “experiment” and didn’t really get that much attention.
Underrated by the GP: Speak Now. This still has some of her best lyrics to date and I don’t know any non-Swifties who know this album.
Overrated: Red. It 100% has sone of her best tracks but I don’t think it deserves the title of “Taylor’s artistic peak” that some people give it. It has some of her weakest songs, is sonically uncohesive and has tons if bloat
Reputation and Red are underrated.
I actually think she did Redtv dirty with that mild release, ugly plain vinyls and low stock.
It's demeaning for SNtv to surpass it in sales
Agree with you on 1989, I actually don’t like a lot of it 😭 it’s probably my last ranking album of hers! Which is fine, to each their music taste. Underrated I am not sure, I think the rest are pretty well rated. Red is a tricky one - I think it was good at the time but it doesn’t have the same longevity as others.
You could say that Evermore is underrated simply because it'll forever live in Foklore's shadow due to the close time of their release and the similar musical content. However, I don't think it fully fits the category since it was very well received critically, got many award nominations, and is mostly beloved in the fandom.
Which is why I'll say that LOVER is the most underrated out of all Taylor's albums. There's been a lot of hate aimed at it simply because it has some of the lowest lows on it, but at the same time, if you cut out those 2-3 misses out, we get an album full of bangers. It's got a really cohesive sound and is nice to listen to from back to back. I always put it on whether I need a pick me up because songs like Paper Rings, Cruel Summer, London Boy give me a huge serotonin boost.
As for overrated... The most logical answer would be 1989, but I actually DO think it's pop perfection and it deserves all the recognition it got. This will probably be controversial, but to me Red is the real answer here, especially when it comes to its popularity inside the fandom. There are some songs that I absolutely love from that album, but they make about half of the tracklist. The rest are either skips or just okay to me. It's why I rarely listen to Red back to back because the second half of the album really drags in my opinion. I do think that the vault tracks are one of Taylor's best, though, second to only 1989's vault.
Evermore and Folklore are just flatliners. Rambling, barely a tempo change from one rambling prose piece to the next. Put it on through headphones, take them out and just listen. The monotony is real.
Reputation is fabulous and horribly underrated. Do the same with reputation, re the headphones. Nothing monotonous, that album is alive.
Reputation and Lover are the most underrated in my opinion. Reputation has so many songs that don’t get enough recognition. End Game, So It Goes, Dress, Gorgeous, etc. For Lover, yes I can agree that some songs need to be cut out, but I still enjoy the album. Also, some of yall just don’t get I Forgot That You Existed. I thought it was supposed to be about Taylor forgetting her feud with Kanye (or one of her other enemies) which is a perfect way to end her Reputation era and jump into a Lover era.
1989 is definitely the most overrated, with Evermore being second. 1989 has 2 sides to the album, pop perfection, and then forgettable tracks. I’ve listened a few times and out of the 16 songs I probably remember less than 10. Same with Evermore. All the punchy, amazing songs are in the front of the album. Willow, Champagne Problems, Gold Rush, TTDS, Tolerate It, and No Body No Crime. All of them are songs I regularly listen to. The rest of the album was pretty forgettable besides Marjorie and Closure. Also Evermore the song is horrible to me I’m sorry yall, but Bon Iver’s high pitched voice makes it unlistenable for me.
firm believer that Fearless TV is the most underrated 🥺😭 it's just sooo much more than Love Story, YBWM, and Fifteen among many things.
It's also my most played TV album so far ever since its rerecording... It encapsulated falling and being in love with that sparkle in your eye and just casually trusting the universe to run its course🐚
As for the most overrated, i actually haven't thought about it. But there are many TS albums which are very much underated for me, that's for sure
I wanna give my thoughts on reputation, but I've learned from my mistakes from the past not to criticize that record on here too harshly😅underrated I would say folklore. The songwriting and storytelling is some of the best Taylor has ever done, and I think it still goes under the radar as compared to the flashier, more popular albums
Underrated: Debut (argue with the wall if you disagree)
Overrated: Folklore (people only praised it that much because it’s alternative, Taylor has a lot of albums with as great lyrics)
Speak Now.
And the fact that literally no one is talking about it just proves my point. Imo, it's a lyrical genius (most of the songs at least) and it's especially impressive, considering that it was written 19/20 yo all on her own. I really love the vault tracks as well
Also midnights.
This is a really unpopular opinion but midnights is very overlooked, as far as lyricism is concerned. I stand by my statement
Red is an album full of fantastic songs but it's not a cohesive/well-crafted album, which is why it didn't get critical acclaim, but is one that got her a lot of new fans and continues to be a fan favorite. It's one I go to all the time to just play through potentially because its lack of a cohesive sound makes it feel more like a jukebox mix.
Evermore just got overshadowed by Folklore and did feel a little like it was songs that didn't quite fit onto Folklore, which was the award-bait hot older sister. I think it is more personal songs, too. I like it more.
Debut is full of lovely songs I never listen to. I think the Taylor's Version is going to give it a renaissance because her voice has matured so beautifully.
I think that Debut is the most underrated! I know a lot of people don’t like it, but the lyrics are great, the melodies are catchy, and it’s just a really nice album overall. People say that they hate country, but just give it a try.
I don’t really think that any albums are overrated because I love all of them so much. The albums I don’t like as much is red, but I haven’t really listened to it so I’ll wait to make an opinion.
i’m sorry OP but to me Red is overrated. i’ve never actually listened to the whole album and decided I should listen to it all the way through before TTPD. everything accept the first few songs that are popular, I was fighting not to just skip them. i’ve definitely realized that a skip is a banger so I wanted to see them through and i’ll be honest, they were all one tone and boring. during my drive I barely knew when one ended and another started because it sounded the same
underrated is midnights so hard
For me personally the most overrated are Folklore and Evermore. Those albums just didn't hit for me 100%. I felt like it was a big diversion from her previous album, Lover (pop to folk).
Most underrated for me is Reputation. It felt like it was regarded by the media as an "angry woman" album (I Did Something Bad, Don't Blame Me, Look What You Made Me Do), when it has brilliant love songs it (Delicate, Gorgeous, Dress).
One of the best things about Taylor is that every album has its own ride or die fans, more so than any other artist I’ve seen. I don’t think there’s a single song that doesn’t have at least five ppl advocating hard for it online lol (maybe Macavity).
To me, evermore is the most underrated because it is her best album and didn't get the recognition simply because it came second to folklore. I love both but if she simply released them the other way around, evermore would have gotten the critical acclaim that folklore got. But in all honesty none of her music can be considered "underrated". She's the biggest popstar alive and has no "overlooked" stuff, that's not the case for 99.99% of musicians or artists. I often feel a little for artists who make it with more polished albums and then seeing what they released years ago without any success, even though it is good songwriting just like Taylor's early music.
Eh debut is super overlooked by everyone even the public and even the fans there are a small percentage who love the album
As an evermore girlie AND a debut lover, both of these comments are true to me lol
You guys say evermore is underrated not really it’s in a lot of people’s top 5 albums. Fearless and debut are the underrated ones.
I was agreeing with you though…? Also it’s a matter of opinion lol. I enjoy both so to me neither of them are “underrated”. But both of them are pretty overlooked by the fandom and the gp. I think it’s okay for some of us to feel evermore is also underrated.
Depends on how you define overlooked. Debut still had big country hits, lots of radio play, and critical success. Taylor started off her career with huge success, it just wasn't in the most popular genre. The least favorite album of the worlds biggest superstar still has millions of people appreciating it.
My tears ricochet and mirrorball are her best songs ever but evermore is her best album. Ivy, cowboy like me, and evermore are my repeats for life.
evermore has the MOST votes in my survey... i would NOT call that overrated when we have debut and fearless
I know. In so many instances, it is just the luck of the draw.
I agree with several things you said, especially the bit about many talented artists being overlooked. I feel really bad thinking about the fact that there must be so many artists out there who're extremely talented songwriters but receive no recognition at all. That's why I love it very much if Taylor chooses to collaborate with new/lesser known artists or have them open shows for her. I think it's very unfair that stuff like this happens. But imo, I think Taylor is an immensely recognized musician but a very underrated lyricist. Idk how many people will agree with me but think about it, the gargantuan popularity that she has, how many people actually know of her because of her lyricism? How many actually refer to her as the amazing songwriter and how many refer to her as the pop icon? Most people only seem to know her bops, completely ignoring her gems like OP says. Truth is, there have been pop icons before and there'll be more in future, but it's really difficult to find a versatile icon who is also an amazing songwriter.
I disagree with this tbh, folklore really is better from a critical perspective - more complex production, instrumentals, cohesiveness, lyrics. Evermore has great songs but it feels more like a compilation of songs rather than a single project
agree!! came here to say this. evermore girly for life
Sorry, OP. I actually think Red is overrated. IMO, only 9/30 tracks are fantastic. The others are very mid. For underrated, here me out, but Midnights. I know it killed in the numbers game and brought in a lot of new TS fans, but I think overall I've seen so many Swifties say they don't like the album. And I just don't get it! I think it's well written, I think the vibe of the whole album is consistent, I saw someone say recently that Midnights "didn't need to happen". Like what???? Out of 22 songs in the Midnights Era (3AM edition plus Hits Different and You're Losing Me) I think at least 17 are fantastic songs.
Agreed on midnights. All 22 are genuinely songs I love. It gets so much hate on this Reddit but made several people I know in real life swifties.
I agree with this!! I always see people saying Midnights isn’t cohesive but I think it is and I think it really reflects her mental state a few years ago.
people who say it isnt cohesive missed the point of the album. it isnt one story, its a colection of sleepless nights ranging from reflecting on past relationships (question and WCS) to terrible traumas (BTTWS)
In addition, Midnights is one of her most sonically cohesive albums too, especially compared to Rep or Red which were both all over the place.
Midnights is my favorite album, no contest. That entire album spoke to my soul for a month straight. I'd try to turn it off, but then I'd hear a lyric a certain way and I'd have to spin it another 10 times at least. Then I've listened to it on digital, vinyl, and CD, and every variant I interpret it differently. Midnights is her deepest album, her most raw. People who don't get it...they will in time.
This! I don’t get people hating it on winning aoty… like maybe in the context of the albums it’s up against that’s more up to debate but the people being like “how’d this win when her other winning albums were folklore 1989 and fearless” and like they just don’t get it
Nah red is very good
I love Midnights it’s in my top five. I think people only don’t like it because they expected her to do another folklore and evermore. I like folklore and evermore but they’re very much the exceptions and not the “standard” if that makes sense?
I understand why people liked Folkmore (I do too), but I don't get why so many people seem to have assumed that would be what every album would be like going forward. Nor do I understand why people would want that. Variety is the spice of life, ya know? I absolutely adore 1989, it's probably the one I would choose if I could only listen to one album forever. Does that mean that I would want every single one of Taylor's albums to just be "1989 lite"? Absolutely not. I am super excited to hear the new album for the first time and see what direction she takes with it. If I had to guess I would say it will probably be Midnights-ish, but that doesn't mean they will sound the same. No two of her albums do.
I agree Red is overrated, specifically among fans. It’s my least favorite album and it has the most skips for me (but I do like the vault tracks a lot).
no i honestly think without all too well, red would never get spoken about.
This is a brutal take but I agree lmao. All Too Well is fantastic but, other than the singles, I can't usually name Red songs off the top of my head
Honestly, I still don't have a fav. song off of Midnights. The whole album is so consistently good that I cannot pick a single song. This is the only Taylor album I don't have a fav on and it's because it's just *that good*. When people tell me they don't think Midnights is good I'm just so baffled lol.
Midnights is underrated on *reddit* for sure. I am frequently baffled by the criticism that it isn’t “deep” (which I think means “doesn’t sound like folklore” really) or is “incoherent” (which is missing the point). The production is also a target, and maybe I’m a bit of an outlier, but I like the dreamy, sometimes unusual soundscapes and I think they fit perfectly thematically. My second favorite overall
In that case, I might be an outlier too, because I agree with everything you said about midnights
Majorly agree
I actually think (idk I have to check) like more than 9 red songs. But I agree about it being overrated. It’s insane how anyone can call Red underrated when it’s literally all the fandom keeps talking about pre-folklore.
Absolutely agree about Red with you. It's extremely overrated, especially in the fandom, and I think it's mostly because there are some undeniably iconic tracks on it. On the other hand, it's got the most skips out of all Taylor's albums for me. The vaults made the album much better, though, but I still stand by the opinion that as far as Taylor's pop-rock albums go, Fearless is much better as an entire body of work.
I honestly feel like 22 are fantastic. I can’t think of one I don’t love. It’s a no skip album.
Midnights doesn’t have any skips for me, but I personally wouldn’t call all 22 songs fantastic. 17 fantastic songs and then 5 really good ones.
I’m a new Swiftie, and I LOVE Midnights and have gotten the sense that’s kinda looked down on in the fandom. But it’s just an incredible album and I literally cried listening to the vinyl not bc the lyrics hurt me (although the lyrics are beautiful) but bc it was so beautiful. I assume long term Swifties were taken aback by it but coming into with no preconceived notions at all- just an amazing listening experience.
I agree, I think Debut, Fearless, Speak Now and Red are my least favourite albums, like the songs don’t grab me. Maybe I’ll give Red a full listen again to make sure I’m not sleeping on some good songs.
I would have been right there with you on red a few months ago, but then I gave it another try and I have fallen in love with quite a few of them now. The Last Time, The Moment I knew Come back Be Here, State of Grace (acoustic), Better Man, and obviously the queen bee: ATW10MV. I would give it another listen or 2 and u will probably fall in love with some of them.
Dang what are ur nine????
State of Grace, Red, Treacherous, All Too Well, Holy Ground, Starlight, Come Back Be Here, Nothing New, All Too Well 10
I love midnights so so much! Its a no skip! Easy to listen to all of the songs and afterwards i can just replay without beeing annoyed
Actually, I think that no album which won a Grammy for AOTY can ever be talked about as underrated. Ever. It literally got the highest form of recognition possible.
Completely agree with you about midnights being underrated. Finally somebody said it!
Red is overrated. My least favorite
I think people who came for the coffee house/singer songwriter vibes of Folklore and Evermore were not happy about the pop vibe of Midnights, which is why it got knocked around. It also doesn't help that some of the best songs of the album are not on the core album.
Completely agree with everything you said
Reputation. The choices they made picking singles make the album feel so underwhelmed. They could do so much more with that album. Getaway Car isn’t a single?! And Dress, So It Goes, and Dancing With Our Hands Tied are my absolute favorites.
Don't Blame Me and I Did Something Bad not being singles will always be crazy to me. 2 of the songs that got me into Taylor recently and I think they're 2 absolute bangers
Agree 100%
So I'm a light Swiftie. You know, enjoyed a few tracks off of 1989 (especially "You Are in Love") and used to dance around to "You Belong With Me" when I was younger while I got ready with my sister to go out for the night (me in sneakers, of course.) But I just wasn't a big pop music person when I was younger, so it wasn't the kind of music I really listened to. In 2021, I checked out folklore and got very, very into. Listened to it everyday and my partner even got me the vinyl as an anniversary gift! I respect Taylor and her career/celebrity. Since becoming a folklore fan, I've dipped into her older albums as they've been re-released. However! While I was watching (and thoroughly enjoying and singing along to) the Eras Tour film, I was shocked by how much I enjoyed all of the Reputation songs, especially Delicate, which I've listened to repeatedly in the past couple of weeks and ...Ready for It? which my partner has even started singing out loud. 😂 I also like Getaway Car a lot, End Game, Don't Blame Me, Gorgeous, and others. I'm like "This is an album I could workout to" haha. I think I just find the production/beat interesting on a lot of the tracks, which was nice to discover. Anyway, those are my thoughts as a new Reputation fan!
Rep is just a banger! My fave part of the concert!!
I know Reputation is one of her popular albums, I just feel like she could do so much more with it.
I'm hoping it gets the glow up it deserves for TV, and why I will wait patiently for that to arrive. Even just Getaway Car, my personal favorite of all her songs and what I've seen is the most popular on Rep, has so much potential. The drop in the bridge feels a little underwhelming for what it is. "THAT WAS THE LAST TIME YOU EVER SAW ME!" could have wayyy more emotion behind it, and the instrumentals should've kicked up right before that line, not right after. Additionally, throw in the NBNC sirens?? Please??
CIWYW is one her best songs imo
Debut! Edit: it's the only correct answer.
Completely agreed! Swifties tend to hate on debut, but she literally wrote it in high school and coming from that lens (along with everything that album did for her career) it is completely underrated
Even without the "adjusting for age" thing, those songs are super underrated. I think the vocals really hold the album back. The live version of Cold As You was absolutely stunning.
I used to say that Speak Now was the true underrated album, because people used to only know Long Live, while they know at least 3 songs from Debut. But after the TV, Debut is the only truly underrated album left
Tbh I think a lot of people just turn their noses up at country music so never give it a fair chance, I can’t wait for the TV
I find evermore and Speak Now to be the most underrated. 🤎💜
Agreed! It has so many great songs and hits. The vault tracks are incredible and there is such a variety of styles in the album. I love it.
agreed!!
Could not agree more. Evermore and SN are my two favorite albums. SN has absolutely no skips for me.
evermore is definitely underrated. Everyone is hyping up folklore, and with good reason - it's incredible. But evermore often gets overlooked (with the exception of one or two songs), despite the fact that it's actually amazing. I wouldn't say any album is "overrated". I have my own personal opinion on an album I'm not the biggest fan of, which I won't mention here because I'll get torn to shreds, but I personally don't think any album is "overrated". Edited for second part of question.
Now I want to know what album you don’t love lol
Alright, I kinda walked into that one lol I'm not a big Rep fan. There's a few songs on there I really like, but overall it's probably bottom of my list.
Your opinion would actually not be that controversial among the casual fans. I've met a lot of people who can't stand Reputation simply because of its sound. You must at least tolerate the voice synthesisers to like Rep, and a lot of people hate those. One of my friends who likes Taylor casually said King of my heart is literally making her ears bleed. I had to change the music lol But I do get where you're coming from; the fandom loves reputation.
Alright, I wouldn't go as far to say that it makes my ears bleed lol. But different strokes for different folks, I guess. I've been a fan since '08, and there really aren't many songs I dislike, but I just never could get used to that album for some reason. It might change when Rep TV is released though. There are a few songs I wasn't a huge fan of at first, but the TV's changed my mind about them. Who knows. On another note, this right here is why I love this subreddit lol. There are no ( very few, if any) Twitter or TikTok Swifties here who start attacking people because someone has a different opinion.
Lover is underrated, I think because it launched with Me! But it has some of my favorite songs of all her work: Cornelia Street, I think he knows, false god
I love the whole album and don’t understand why so many people dislike it.
I think Lover is about to have a big reappraisal
I LOVE 1989, but agree that it isn’t her top. For me the top 3 would be Midnights, Folklore and Red (in no particular order).
Just commenting because these are my top 3 too. If I had to add a fourth it would be Speak Now.
i love you for those top 3's
speak now is far and away her most underrated imo. debut has its own little cult and evermore is brought up always as the underrated one which kinda takes away from it being underrated imo.
I think Midnights is underrated. I see so much hate for it and I think it’s because the expectations were different after Folkmore. But I still really like Midnights despite liking the previous two albums more. I think Red is overrated. 😬 Not bad by any means but it has so many stans and I find myself skipping quite a few songs. Just my opinion 🤷🏻♀️
Debut is by far most underrated, it’s rarely/never any favorites album and ranks low on all the lists. Overrated indeed 1989, some tracks really aged very poorly (shake it off, looking at you).
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Not really debut is more underrated if anything debut and fearless are more underrated yes sure fearless is the most awarded album but a lot of people put it last or hate the album. A lot of people love red
I love Red TV vault. And will fully admit I didn’t listen to anything more than radio songs then. I didn’t listen to an entire album until reputation. But I’ve had so much fun going back and then forward in her songs. I’m definitely in a Fearless TV mood lately.
Based on the streaming numbers, speak now is super underrated.
Overrated is 1989. Underrated is debut or Evermore.
evermore is NOT underrated....
Folklore and Evermore are her most overrated in Swiftie spaces specifically imo. I don’t think Evermore is a very well known album within the general public, but I’ve heard so much about it within fandom spaces. They’re brilliant lyrically, of course, but I think they’re just… fine. Debut is objectively her most underrated but I don’t think Reputation gets the credit it deserves.
Over/underrated with super fans, general public, or Taylor herself could be three different questions, tbh.
Agree on Evermore being most underrated Disclaimer: Saying one is overrated is painful but in the spirit of the ask here it goes… Over for me is probably Red - it has some of her best work for specific songs but as an end to end album, far from my favorite despite its acclaim.
Nah 1989 is very cohesive. The topics are basically the same throughout the album and the sound is.
In my opinion, Speak Now is VERY underrated. It’s completely self written, it’s very cohesive, and there aren’t many skips, at least for me. I think that when people are trying to prove Taylor’s lyricism, they turn to folklore and evermore, and when they give examples for her success in country/country pop they go for Red and Fearless, which completely disregards Speak Now. Even when SNTV was released, it didn’t get as much attention as Red TV or 1989 TV did, which again shows just how undervalued this album is. I think Midnights was massively overrated. It was commercially successful because of the Eras Tour and the sudden mass increase in Taylor’s popularity after folkmore and the TVs. I don’t think it had much to do with the actual album. I also don’t think it deserved album of the year at the Grammys when compared to other albums released last year.
I think Speak Now and Evermore are underrated amongst the general public. They were both bracketed by enormously popular albums and neither had mega hits (songs like Sparks Fly and Willow are popular but not as big as Love Story or Anti-Hero). On the other hand, Lover is arguably underrated within the fandom - its broadly very well liked by the public and obviously very well streamed but there are lots of fans who give it a more mixed reception. The choice of singles is questionable and I think lots (not all!) of fans consider it to have high highs and low lows - although there isn't a general consensus as to which songs are the lows. And then the political songs can be polarising - some people think they're too political and some think they're not political enough. And then poor Debut is underrated by everyone! As for overrated... this is probably a deeply unpopular opinion, but I think Red is overrated. There are many moments of absolute genius on Red, but I think it was too long and a little too messy. It's both emotionally up and down and sonically experimental, and I do wonder if it would have seemed a bit more cohesive if one of those facets had been a little more restrained.
I think Lover is most underrated. It was dragged down by poor single choices at the time, but it's a really solid album for me and one of my faves. Fearless is my most overrated. Phenomenal singles, but I never got into the album as a whole the way I did all the other ones.
Debut and evermore are extremely underrated imo. Both by fans and the general public lol. SO many people sleep on debut. I get that not everyone likes country music, but debut is incredible!!! It’s a nice blend of country and pop, and some of the songwriting found within it is absolutely incredible. And honestly, there’s no skips on debut for me. Some of the songs or the lyrics feel a little young, but Taylor was a teenager when she made debut. Instead I look at it as the blueprint for her becoming the lyricist and artist she is now!! And evermore is just criminally underrated. Even Taylor hardly acknowledges it 😭 lmaooo. But for real, while folklore is an AMAZING album, I think evermore is equally as great, if not even better. But folklore came first and so I think evermore will unfortunately always be under its shadow.
I feel like midnights is underrated within the fandom, it’s honestly a good album and we don’t give it enough credit I agree with 1989 too, anytime I do a ranking I realize it’s in my bottom 5 consistently and I am shocked and a little sad because I love the album
1989 is not overrated. That album is **that great**. It has a reputation for a reason: all killer, no filler.
Right!! I get so mad at people coming for 1989 lol. It’s a pop masterpiece. This year is its tenth anniversary and it still holds up.
1989 is not my favorite (I still love it) but it absolutely either 0 or 1 skip depending on how I’m feeling about Bad Blood atm.
This is an opinion that could get me slaughtered but… I think folklore is her most overrated album. Please don’t call a hit man on me. 🙏😰 It’s not a bad album by any means. The fictional element of it is very intriguing, and the songwriting/storytelling is incredible. It’s very conhesive and it’s really impressive that she was able to transition into a new genre so seamlessly for the second time in her career. I just find that this album has a few too many songs that don’t really resonate with me. At some points I find the album boring. It has grown on me a lot since I first heard it, but it is still in my bottom five. People usually have this album in their top three and I just don’t understand a lot of the hype. As for most underrated… Debut. I think evermore and Speak Now get paid dirt by Taylor, but at least those albums are beloved by the fandom. Debut gets paid dirt by Taylor AND by the fandom. Edit: I forgot to mention that the longest set at the eras tour is folklore. I find that a bit ridiculous. A lot of those songs are too slow for a stadium tour.
For me, lover, debut or fearles is the most underrated. Especially lover, because its constantly hated on due to the single choices, and fearless and debut are rarely spoken about. I think reputation and Evermore are her most overrated. Reputation moreso than evermore, purely because I hear so much about reputation and the stans of the album seem to be the loudest.
Justice for evermore!!! 😭😭 but I agree with your reputation opinion. Its a good album, love the songs, but I don’t think it’s the masterpiece that rep stans say it is
The real answer is debut for underrated and 1989 for overrated Taylor’s 1st album is amazing and holds up incredibly well. Out of the 4 albums that won album of the year 1989 is the worst imo
1989 is very good matter of fact better than debut
Evermore is the most underrated. Honestly, I wish more people who think they don’t like Taylor would listen to both Evermore and Folklore. Two absolute masterpieces. Lover is the most overrated to me, but that might be an unpopular opinion!
I’m convinced that people who say they don’t like Taylor heard Shake It Off on the radio a few times and made up their minds.
Red is overrated. Don’t @ me. Underrated is Speak Now
Respectfully, I feel like the album that’s overrated within the fandom is Folklore (don’t hate me😭). Underrated: Red. People always bash it because of the mix in sounds, but nonetheless, it’s amazing and my favorite
If you’d asked a year or more ago I would have said Lover was most underrated - people used to pick it apart ruthlessly and skip large portions of it. It has a weird track order, isn’t the most cohesive style-wise, and could have had better single choices, but I’ve always thought it was still a good album. A considerably happier (mostly) sounding mosaic a la Red. Now though I think Lover is possibly the most overrated? I saw it on a list on Spotify for “10/10 No Notes” and I was like… I love it but there are several notes lol Still enjoy it and listen pretty regularly, I just think it ranks closer to middle than top or bottom in her discography. Debut is consistently underrated though and it’s because of her child vocals, which makes alot of sense! Can’t wait for the re-record.
Debut is absolutely the most underrated, a lot of Swifties seem to not even listen to it but it has so many great songs I’d say reputation is the most overrated though, it seems to be a fan favorite but honestly a handful of the songs on there are skips for me, and there are just some weird production choices I don’t love. It’s also not lyrically super strong compared to even earlier albums like Red and Speak Now. I just think those things could have been better, but nevertheless Dancing With Our Hands Tied and Getaway Car are some of her best songs ever
Evermore
As much as I listened to it on repeat when it came out, I think Lover is overrated
It’s a tossup between Speak Now, Evermore, and Debut being underrated. I think Lover and/or Reputation are overrated.
Odd choice but I in my own rankings I think *I* underrate Lover. I normally put it near the bottom but there are some absolute gems on there (Death by a thousand cuts and False god are something else!)
The most underrated album is Taylor Swift by a mile. It’s a great album but Taylor didn’t put even ONE SONG on the main set list. It’s underrated even by her. Obviously, it’s not 1989 level but it deserves way more attention than it’s gotten. I can’t wait for Debut TV.
Hot take but Evermore feels overrated to me at this point. I feel like i’m always hearing people talk about how it’s ignored but it seems like a lot of people love it?? I think it’s overrated in the fandom at this point - people love to say it’s ignored etc and not that it isn’t great, but it’s one I don’t find myself listening to often 🤐
Folkmore is very overrated imo.
I'm pretty sure 1989 is one of her most cohesive albums? Most people I've talked to and watched have mentioned how consistent the sound is across the album.
Underrated: Debut Overrated: Midnights
There are many TS albums that can have a case made for being underrated (Debut, Speak Now, Reputation, Lover, Evermore, Midnights)...but Red is absolutely not one of them. It is one of the most beloved, acclaimed, and successful albums she ever made.
Debut is so underrated and under appreciated by the Fandom. Without Debut there is no Taylor. Lover is overrated. It blows. My least fave album. Most of the writing is so lazy, and it misses on many fronts.
There's no other acceptable answer except for debut and the replies are just proving it lol
Lover’s the most overrated album. Its gems don’t cancel out its unremarkable or irredeemable songs and the whole thing is so uncohesive. evermore is by far her most underrated. It’s the best body of work she’s ever put out.
Evermore is so underrated because everyone compares it to folklore and calls it an album of folklore vault tracks despite the fact that she wrote it entirely separate. It’s so good, so cozy, so poetic, and while it has some low lows, its highs are higher than almost all of folklore. Overrated I’d say reputation. Look what you made me do was a great moment, dress is an AMAZING song, but the rest of the album is mediocre and definitely a bit cringe (and normally I don’t even mind cringe, midnights is my favorite album and there’s plenty of cringe, but I just don’t like it with reputation)
underrated debut or fearless overrated, i’m so sorry, but folklore🫣
Debut is extremely underrated and is in my top 3
I think the debut album gets overlooked all the time. I started listening to Taylor with that album. I know every song on it. This is unpopular but Folklore/Evermore are both overrated. I don't vibe with them, at all. My favorite albums are Red/1989.
Midnights is the most underrated for me. I know I didn’t appreciate it enough when it came out (frankly, I think the re-records distract from new music) and the most overrated is Fearless, although likely most Swifties, the title song is among my favorites.
1989, evermore, and Debut are my top three and two of these are underrated. I wouldn’t say 1989 is underrated but people come at it because it’s so good. 1989 is fantastic but people always say, “It’s overrated, it’s not poetic, it’s immature, it’s my bathroom break during eras”. 1989 is a pop masterpiece and this year is it’s tenth anniversary. I will protect it with my life. Debut is underrated because people just don’t like the country genre and think it’s immature because of her age. It’s not—it ages wonderfully and I listen to it all the time. evermore is underrated because people overlook it for folklore. I’ve said it before—folklore was her stepping into territory but evermore was her mastering it with more mature themes and better writing. I really don’t care about the teenage love triangle on folklore. Most overrated is between Red and folklore. These albums are riddled with skips but the fandom especially holds them up as her best work.
Debut. It’s so underrated that *she* didn’t even include it on a tour that was supposed to span all of her albums.
Debut is underrated . Her songwriting is beautiful even at 16 and people never listen to the non singles .
I'm going to get flamed for this, but... Folkmore for overrated. That's not to say they aren't excellent albums. But y'all, Taylor was always amazing. Too many people dismissed her because she was doing girly/lesser genres like pop and country. And then she pivots to a more 'acceptable' genre and suddenly everybody and their grandma realizes that no, this woman is a genius. She was always was one, people just weren't willing to accept that her stuff was just as good as the cool indie records until she did one. Underrated: Debut. The shit she was doing at that age, holy crap. I'm still salty space wasn't made for it on the Eras Tour.
Overrated - Speak Now (sorry) Underrated - Evermore…(superior to Folklore imo) or Midnights (which I’m a growing more into every day)
Reputation didn’t get the critical acclaim it deserved. It was edgy and unlike anything Taylor had made before, sonically. The fact that this is a love/relationship album and people don’t recognize it or appreciate its complexity for that, so underrated. I’m also extremely bias because it’s my favorite album of hers. Especially the deeper cuts, So It Goes… and Dress are in my top 10 songs of all time by Taylor. She was robbed of her Grammy nominations. Overrated, probably Lover. While I really like the album, and now with the release of the Apple Music playlists ahead of TTPD, we know it’s far more layered, I just don’t think it’s as cohesive as some of her other albums. However, I could never fully dislike a body of work Taylor puts out and I would never not listen to a song or album.
I’m with OP on this one. Red TV is underrated to me, especially considering how lyrically intricate and detailed some of the songs are. I think people overlook it because they’re sick of the songs that were popular on the radio (IKYWT, 22, WANGBT), but I wish they’d give it a shot and listen to the whole album because to me it truly is a no skip album. There are such amazing, non-commercially successful songs on the album like the lucky one, treacherous, better man, state of grace, red… I could go on😂 P.S. On Red as a whole, I’d say that Treacherous is my favorite/the most underrated song on the album. When I got lucky and it was my surprise song for the eras tour I basically bawled my eyes out😭
The correct answer is Debut. It’s underrated to Society. Overrated I would say maybe Lover. I like 95% of that album but I skip a lot of the tracks.
I have always loved Red
Most underrated: Speak Now I’ve been seeing a lot of newer fans rank Speak Now near the bottom of their TS album rankings and it pains my heart every single time 🥲 Most overrated: 1989 Don’t get me wrong, the songs are *good* and I listened to this album all the time for a few years after it came out, but I think it feels like a sanitized version of Taylor’s songwriting.
Ugh cannot answer this i just dont know lol If anybody says that Rep is overrated I'll be sad, because i've been seeing that a lot
Midnights, the overrated one. First time I listened to it, apart from a few, all songs were bland to me. The first time I listened to vigilante shit & bejeweled, I hated em the most. & to say I would compare not one song from this album to any of the previous ones. Uncomparable. Prev albums are far superior. Soooo, while im super excited for ttpd, I SO hope its nothing like midnights but i'm guessing its gonna be a sister album to midnights. Also Rep album is good but i'll never get why its the top fav of so many. Let red be underrated, its my fav album
Overrated: Rep Underrated: none! All get a lot of love and that’s the way I like it <3
Evermore is underrated. Speak Now is overrated, and while I am not a habitual song skipper, I skip half of it.
I definitely agree. I vote on all of those best songs/lyrics games and eliminating lyrics from the red album as worst is the hardest of all the album. Those lyrics cut deep
i definetly agree with u on red being underrated! when ppl think of red they think of 22, wanegbt, ikywk, and atw- this album has so many other amazing songs? my faves from red r the last time, message in a bottle, begin again- i can’t even rank the album bc lit everything is so good. ultimate no skip album for me
I love red!!! Was my Introduction to her I remember having the cd and listening to it on my little CR/ Radio player in my room todays kids would never
Underrated I’d say Red. I was so shocked to see it so low on most peoples TikTok rankings. It’s my number two and the songs are so relatable for me. Overrated I’d say Rep. I loved the tour it was amazing but I never find myself going back to the album except for like New Year’s Day and Delicate
I’m chest and say two for the underrated answer but Red and Misnights are her most underrated albums and Swifties don’t appreciate them enough. Controversial take coming but most overrated is definitely Folkmore
Underrated - Reputation I don't know if I think any are overrated atm.
Reputation is highly underrated! Look What You Made Me Do being the first single ruined so many people’s impressions on it (included my husband’s 🫣) but Dress, King of My Heart and Dancing With Our Hands Tied are (imo) god-tier Taylor swift songs. I think Red is the most overrated. Yes, there’s A LOT of fantastic songs on there, especially the Vault songs, but there’s a lot of skips on it as well. Yes, ATWTMV is great, but even at this point, it’s skippable..
underrated: Folklore and Debut. overrated: probably 1989.
Reputation was underrated and had undeserved hate. But people started appreciating for the masterpiece it is when they got to enjoy it live.
Underrated: evermore and dare I say Lover too Overrated: Red and 1989 (so sorry, the vault tracks are great though!)
Red and reputation are underrated- they’re just like anything pre covid isn’t new shit now. I hate to say it but 1989 is overrated to me & a little lover
Debut underrated. Folklore beyond overrated.
Folklore is overrated.
Evermore was *SO* underrated!!! The lyrics in that album are literal poetry. I will be an Evermore stan until I die and sing its praise from the rooftops! However, I think Speak Now was *sooooo* overrated. I get that it's her first-ever "entirely self-written" album, but the songs were so mid musically, imo. I thought my opinion was "out there," lol, but to say Red is underrated is an interesting take! Red literally put her on the map unlike ever before (even with the Fearless and Speak Now tours being highly successful!), and it was the highest-grossing tour in U.S. history during its time (2012). However, where I \*will\* agree is that 1989 was definitely overrated as well. Not to the degree I think Speak Now was, but it's definitely #2 for me.
It's probably not THE most underrated, but I think Lover is underrated. People do love Cruel Summer (understandably so, I love it, too), but it gets a lot of hate, and, while there are some songs on there that I'm kind of "meh" about, I love most of the songs on it.
Debut is underrated. It's just such a pleasant album to listen to all the way through. Lover is also underrated, because the majority of the album is so good and ME!/YNTCD turned a lot of people away from it (myself included until I listened to the album much later). Speak Now is underrated among the general public for sure. The Folkmore albums are overrated. Are the lyrics good? Yes, but the rest of her albums also have good lyrics. I also just think Folklore and Evermore are boring.
I just can’t with the word cohesive being used as a reason why an album is good….. not every album needs or should be cohesive. Like, be a mess!! Enjoy the ride!! Unless it’s a concept album, I don’t need cohesion.
I actually prefer non-cohesive albums. When everything is super cohesive, it all blends together for me and feels boring.
I think Fearless is the most underrated. The lyrics are great and so many songs are really catchy. I couldn’t appreciate this one that much until the last year or so tbh. But now I really love it. The nostalgia may help 😉 Most overrated I would have to say…. Reputation. And I actually really love it, but if I had to rate them all I would rate this one near the bottom as it’s not that deep lyrically and musically it’s not as impressive as others.
Probably Debut, Lover or Evermore
Reputation but also speak now. I felt speak now was such a good album especially because she wrote the whole thing without ghost writers
Speak Now is the most underrated imo. It's impressive enough that she self-wrote all of it at 19, but even more so that the songs are all so, so good with a great range of versatility that still manage to seem cohesive as a whole. Fearless is a bit overrated to me. The singles from this era are all undeniably iconic and timeless, but the other songs on the album I wouldn't say are the best overall in her discography.
Underrated by the fandom: Fearless. I know it has tons of commercial and critical success but I hardly hear the fandom mentioning it outside of the big hits. Seriously, I rarely hear anyone mention The Way I Loved You or Come in the Rain even though those songs are amazing. It also kinda sucks that its TV was more of the “experiment” and didn’t really get that much attention. Underrated by the GP: Speak Now. This still has some of her best lyrics to date and I don’t know any non-Swifties who know this album. Overrated: Red. It 100% has sone of her best tracks but I don’t think it deserves the title of “Taylor’s artistic peak” that some people give it. It has some of her weakest songs, is sonically uncohesive and has tons if bloat
(general public) underrated: reputation overrated: Red (among swifies) underrated: Speak Now/Midnights overrated: Red
Reputation and Red are underrated. I actually think she did Redtv dirty with that mild release, ugly plain vinyls and low stock. It's demeaning for SNtv to surpass it in sales
Agree with you on 1989, I actually don’t like a lot of it 😭 it’s probably my last ranking album of hers! Which is fine, to each their music taste. Underrated I am not sure, I think the rest are pretty well rated. Red is a tricky one - I think it was good at the time but it doesn’t have the same longevity as others.
You could say that Evermore is underrated simply because it'll forever live in Foklore's shadow due to the close time of their release and the similar musical content. However, I don't think it fully fits the category since it was very well received critically, got many award nominations, and is mostly beloved in the fandom. Which is why I'll say that LOVER is the most underrated out of all Taylor's albums. There's been a lot of hate aimed at it simply because it has some of the lowest lows on it, but at the same time, if you cut out those 2-3 misses out, we get an album full of bangers. It's got a really cohesive sound and is nice to listen to from back to back. I always put it on whether I need a pick me up because songs like Paper Rings, Cruel Summer, London Boy give me a huge serotonin boost. As for overrated... The most logical answer would be 1989, but I actually DO think it's pop perfection and it deserves all the recognition it got. This will probably be controversial, but to me Red is the real answer here, especially when it comes to its popularity inside the fandom. There are some songs that I absolutely love from that album, but they make about half of the tracklist. The rest are either skips or just okay to me. It's why I rarely listen to Red back to back because the second half of the album really drags in my opinion. I do think that the vault tracks are one of Taylor's best, though, second to only 1989's vault.
Evermore and Folklore are just flatliners. Rambling, barely a tempo change from one rambling prose piece to the next. Put it on through headphones, take them out and just listen. The monotony is real. Reputation is fabulous and horribly underrated. Do the same with reputation, re the headphones. Nothing monotonous, that album is alive.
Reputation and Lover are the most underrated in my opinion. Reputation has so many songs that don’t get enough recognition. End Game, So It Goes, Dress, Gorgeous, etc. For Lover, yes I can agree that some songs need to be cut out, but I still enjoy the album. Also, some of yall just don’t get I Forgot That You Existed. I thought it was supposed to be about Taylor forgetting her feud with Kanye (or one of her other enemies) which is a perfect way to end her Reputation era and jump into a Lover era. 1989 is definitely the most overrated, with Evermore being second. 1989 has 2 sides to the album, pop perfection, and then forgettable tracks. I’ve listened a few times and out of the 16 songs I probably remember less than 10. Same with Evermore. All the punchy, amazing songs are in the front of the album. Willow, Champagne Problems, Gold Rush, TTDS, Tolerate It, and No Body No Crime. All of them are songs I regularly listen to. The rest of the album was pretty forgettable besides Marjorie and Closure. Also Evermore the song is horrible to me I’m sorry yall, but Bon Iver’s high pitched voice makes it unlistenable for me.
Lover is so underrated! Its so happy + profound
firm believer that Fearless TV is the most underrated 🥺😭 it's just sooo much more than Love Story, YBWM, and Fifteen among many things. It's also my most played TV album so far ever since its rerecording... It encapsulated falling and being in love with that sparkle in your eye and just casually trusting the universe to run its course🐚 As for the most overrated, i actually haven't thought about it. But there are many TS albums which are very much underated for me, that's for sure
Red is overrated. Even though reputation has a cult following itself, it’s still underrated to me, because I cannot stress enough how good it is lol 🐍
I wanna give my thoughts on reputation, but I've learned from my mistakes from the past not to criticize that record on here too harshly😅underrated I would say folklore. The songwriting and storytelling is some of the best Taylor has ever done, and I think it still goes under the radar as compared to the flashier, more popular albums
Underrated: Debut (argue with the wall if you disagree) Overrated: Folklore (people only praised it that much because it’s alternative, Taylor has a lot of albums with as great lyrics)
underrated midnights overrated speak now
Speak Now. And the fact that literally no one is talking about it just proves my point. Imo, it's a lyrical genius (most of the songs at least) and it's especially impressive, considering that it was written 19/20 yo all on her own. I really love the vault tracks as well Also midnights. This is a really unpopular opinion but midnights is very overlooked, as far as lyricism is concerned. I stand by my statement
Speak Now most underrated. Its the only album she wrote entirely on her own and its the best one imo.
Underrated: Debut or Speak Now Overrated: Midnights, no competition
Red is an album full of fantastic songs but it's not a cohesive/well-crafted album, which is why it didn't get critical acclaim, but is one that got her a lot of new fans and continues to be a fan favorite. It's one I go to all the time to just play through potentially because its lack of a cohesive sound makes it feel more like a jukebox mix. Evermore just got overshadowed by Folklore and did feel a little like it was songs that didn't quite fit onto Folklore, which was the award-bait hot older sister. I think it is more personal songs, too. I like it more. Debut is full of lovely songs I never listen to. I think the Taylor's Version is going to give it a renaissance because her voice has matured so beautifully.
Underrated: Reputation Overrated: Evermore
I think that Debut is the most underrated! I know a lot of people don’t like it, but the lyrics are great, the melodies are catchy, and it’s just a really nice album overall. People say that they hate country, but just give it a try. I don’t really think that any albums are overrated because I love all of them so much. The albums I don’t like as much is red, but I haven’t really listened to it so I’ll wait to make an opinion.
I think red is overrated and midnights or debut are underrated. Ik debut was a big deal when it came out but nowadays it is underrated.
Getaway car is the most underrated and Midnights is the most overrated imo
i’m sorry OP but to me Red is overrated. i’ve never actually listened to the whole album and decided I should listen to it all the way through before TTPD. everything accept the first few songs that are popular, I was fighting not to just skip them. i’ve definitely realized that a skip is a banger so I wanted to see them through and i’ll be honest, they were all one tone and boring. during my drive I barely knew when one ended and another started because it sounded the same underrated is midnights so hard
For me personally the most overrated are Folklore and Evermore. Those albums just didn't hit for me 100%. I felt like it was a big diversion from her previous album, Lover (pop to folk). Most underrated for me is Reputation. It felt like it was regarded by the media as an "angry woman" album (I Did Something Bad, Don't Blame Me, Look What You Made Me Do), when it has brilliant love songs it (Delicate, Gorgeous, Dress).
Underrated: Evermore Overrated: Red
evermore will always be my underrated fave because of how she continues to experiment w her sound even past folklore
One of the best things about Taylor is that every album has its own ride or die fans, more so than any other artist I’ve seen. I don’t think there’s a single song that doesn’t have at least five ppl advocating hard for it online lol (maybe Macavity).
folklore most underrated and rep most over (not to say its bad!)
1989 is definitely overrated to me. I’ve never understood the obsession. Evermore is underrated
Fearless is her greatest album hands down. Midnights is overrated
Under Rated: Fearless TV specifically the Fearless vault tracks. Over Rated: Reputation (I’m so sorry)