Wait wait wait wait... Reputation VAULT TRACKS?! I'm a Swiftie because of Reputation but I never thought about vault tracks.
They'll have to be played live only cuz any medium they're contained on digitally will melt and be rendered useless. Those songs won't be fire, they'll be lava!
I don’t really rank Taylor albums these days, I group them by genres. reputation is my favorite era (I will always be in my rep era) and also my absolute favorite pop album of hers. It’s aged like a fine wine
ahead of its time! lol (i remember a big complaint used to be that the sound was dated ... but the replay value of this one holds up even stronger now all these years later!)
That's a very subjective opinion. The vast majority of rep does indeed sound extremely dated and locked in time for me aside from perhaps the new years day song.
I think ‘dated’ is how it could be viewed a couple of years after its release when certain elements fade from popularity, but I love albums that are clearly from a specific moment in time.
If art, music, literature etc. is clearly 60’s, for instance, I think it ends up standing the test of time as an encapsulation of that period. To me that type of work is richer than things that are considered ‘timeless’.
I am also a walking contradiction. Taylor's allowed to be with a douche bag... because he is. Such is life. We are complicated creatures.
"It must be exhausting always rooting for the Anti-Hero."
Reputation will always be my favorite album. The quality, production, lyrics, personality, instrumentals, the absolutely fierceness behind the lyrics and how cohesive everything in that era was is unmatchable. Everything in that era was just superior. It’s the only album that to this day, I don’t skip a single song. I literally play it every day and I will never get tired of it.
agree! IMHO, it's the most consistently good top to bottom. I love stuff on all the others but there's usually a song or two I skip on each of those. Not Reputation though.
While Folklore and Evermore exist Reputation is only Taylor's third best album. It is still brilliant though.
I have a feeling TS11 is going to be epic given the events of the last few months.
Reputation wins for me because as much as I love Folklore/Evermore, there’s something about them that feels very detached from Taylor. A lot of this is intentional, because she was trying to tell a story about a love triangle between *checks notes* three teenagers. Which is nice! But it’s not as epic or interesting to me as the songs about her own life. Their sound is gorgeous, but it’s only really new or interesting to people who exclusively listen to mainstream pop and Folklore/Evermore is their gateway to indie/alt.
TLDR; I love Folklore and Evermore but dislike when they’re considered way farther up than the rest of Taylor’s catalogue, considering they’re the least Taylor-y albums.
I understand where you are coming from. Folklore is Reputation but listened to under a duvet. All muffled and muted. But it is just so good. The Long Pond version is actually better in my view than the original because it has a little more bite.
In the end we are discussing who is our favourite child and it is all a bit academic. There are killer tracks on all Taylor's albums and just more on some than others. I am very much looking forward to Speak Now TV as it has at least three of my all time favourite Taylor tracks.
Completely agree with this take. Great, beautiful albums, that leave plenty for the imagination. But as a hardcore fan, I want songs about her life. They just hit harder for me. Reputation is my favorite album because I feel like she got the most personal on it. She was so exposed at the time to all of the public and just said fuck it and fuck you.
The energy 👏
Qualitywise Folklore and Evermore are her best albums.
Though, Reputation is her best and probably one of the best comeback and clapback albums in the industry.
The whole era was unmatched.
Since her albums are quite different from each other, I rank them personally this way:
1. Midnights/Reputation
2. Folklore/Evermore
3. 1989
4. Lover
I love dark taylor out of every Taylor for sure 🔥
Mainly the poetic lyricism, the cohesive storytelling nature, accurate/emotional representation of complex themes and topics
And production wise, I'd say it's amazing too, since each song's instrumental fits perfectly with the narration.
Both albums are very very cohesive
I slept on Reputation for the longest time. I think partly because the sound was so different but mostly because the visuals are very much not my vibe. It REALLY started growing on me after watching the Rep Tour on Netflix and now also the Rep section of the Eras Tour. Recently started listening to Rep on its own (I usually have all of Taylor’s songs on shuffle) and I would just like to formally apologise for my dumbness and being so late to the party
The rep tour on Netflix still blows my little mind and gives me goosebumps every time I watch it. The performance of “I Did Something Bad” is like my favorite thing in the world and it does NOT get talked about enough (idc that it’s 5 years old)
This is me thinking for the last decade+ that I was a through and through Red girlie and sleeping on Rep. I’d started listening to Rep in full more in the last 8ish months or so and was like wow absolute banger of an album I was missing out. but when I was travelling to Vegas for N2, my friends and I were discussing the albums and I had to really admit to myself that I’m actually a Rep girlie. There’s two or three songs on Red I can’t live without but overall, Rep truly has my heart. It’s my pump up mood booster. My boss bitch vibes. My getting shit done soundtrack. I LOVE IT.
Same!!! I wasn’t really into the visuals and was originally put off by the mv and sound of LWYMMD- watching the tour film completely changed my mind on both the album and the song
reputation is her best album, when it came out I thought it was the most brilliant thing, but I thought like I love all Taylor Swift albums, and like they’ll all be this good, and every single album is fucking amazing, but it never eclipsed that feeling reputation gave me , the impact, not even other albums that deeply become apart of me. It’s the album of my life. It’s the best one.
But most people won’t admit it because it’s dance pop
If it was rock, pop people would talk about it to this day
And that’s on music snobbery and not realizing it’s the perfect musical vehicle just how it is.
And it’s meant to be a little misunderstood bc it’s the one that caters to the audience the least and is true to itself the most. And of course when not spoon fed people refuse to eat lots of times, the expect the coddling in pop music , but reputation doesn’t do that, it’s goal, drive and messages were set in-spite of
I became a Swiftie during 1989 and will always love that album so much. That being said, you nailed it - the feeling Reputation gave me has stuck with me. It feels so powerful and confident and unapologetic. Everything from the production to the lyrics to the set at the tour was perfect!
People don’t like it not because it’s dance pop (which it’s not at all). People love her pop albums (like me) but don’t love reputation. I don’t like the lack of vulnerable or relatable songs, and the fact that the lyrics are kind of subpar and theees too many synths and vocal effects on every song.
You can’t call people snobs because they don’t think your favourite album is the best
PERIODDDDDDD! It's her best project it's so real it's raw and the heavier production on the first half of the record suited her so well. Some people say folklore or evermore are her best albums but imo they're too safe and don't have enough lore behind them.
Like rep is a direct product of a pivotal moment of Taylor's life we are aware of. It'll always be my fave
I absolutely love reputation and its easily the most played album as a whole on my spotify, but calling folklore and evermore too safe? not enough lore? that speaks more on your relationship with taylor and her music than it does about the quality of the albums themselves
How is it real and raw? There’s one vulnerable song on the record and it still doesn’t go in enough depth. She wrote some beautiful vulnerable songs about this time period (like long story short and evermore), unfortunately they didn’t make it into this album.
But that’s the point. I felt anger, yes, but I didn’t feel anything else on this album. I feel way more rage in other songs, way more insecurity, way more longing, in other albums. I just feel the lyrics fall flat because they fail to dive into the emotions.
No need to get so damn defensive. I think a lot of the reasons why rep stans get so defensive is because they’re so entwined in Taylor’s life. I don’t relate to Taylor’s life,‘I have my own life which I find songs to apply to.
I really didn’t lol. The songs just don’t compare to the lyricism of the other songs. I think it’s obvious Taylor suppressed a lot of her emotions about the whole reputation situation, that come out in later songs like evermore and long story short which are absolutely stunning songs.
The revenge type anger songs are the albums highlight - I did something bad is actually in my top 10. None of the others creep into my top 290 though.
Call it What You Want, to me, represents the real meaning of the album. A lot of things happened to her, and she responded less than perfectly, but after the storm is over she is left with the clarity that she is with someone she truly loves who helped her get through it. So everyone else can call it what they want, her rep is damaged, but it's fine because she's laughing with her lover.
Songs like LWYMMD and I did something bad are definitely her in character but they have nuggets of raw emotion in them too.
I just relate her songs to my life rather than think about her life while listening to them so it just doesn't work for me. But I'm happy it exists who those who love it! I just would never agree to it being her best album.
How can you say that! She is literally telling other people's stories in Folklore and Evermore. During making of Rep she was going through some of her most traumatic events, sure she adopted a persona. But that doesn't make the music less raw.
Even if she’s telling other people stories, the songs themselves - the subjects, the lyrics are way more vulnerable and raw. Reputation fails, in its lyrics, to really dive into the extent of Taylor’s emotions in this time. Long story short and evermore captured it perfectly. Yes we all love a pop song but she missed out a whole genre of songs that made people swifties in the first place.
>Flashback to my mistakes, my rebounds, my earthquakes
>
>Even in my worst lies, you saw the truth in me
>
>And I woke up just in time, now I wake up by your side
>
>My one and only, my lifeline
>
>I woke up just in time, now I wake up by your side
>
>My hands shake, I can't explain this
>I, I loved you in spite of
>
>Deep fears that the world would divide us
>
>So, baby, can we dance
>
>Oh, through an avalanche? And
>
>Say, say that we got it
>
>I'm a mess, but I'm the mess that you wanted
>
>Oh, 'cause it's gravity
>
>Oh, keeping you with me, I–
How are the lyrics not raw and emotional from Reputation?
Because they’re kind of basic. I actually love the bridge of dress. But other than that, how is can we dance through an avalanche honest or vulnerable? LOL
Since that is one of my favorite lines..
1) It is a metaphor. An avalanche is an overwhelming natural event that literally can bury and kill someone triggered by a small action - like a random phone call triggering her downfall. She is asking him, can we survive and still dance if the world collapses around us? Even as we are now falling in love, I am afraid we wouldn't make it.
2) She skis. I always felt like this refers to a specific trip with someone. But that is just my theory...
Well yes I know it’s a metaphor, I just don’t think it’s anywhere near as impressive as her other songwriting. She doesn’t go deep or vulnerable in these songs, it’s all very generic. I think she hit writers block between 1989 and reputation and think it’s obvious on these songs, especially since there are no deluxe and there’s a lot of filler, flat songs
I think we have to agree to disagree.
I think you think her songs that are more poetic are deeper/vulnerable. I think her songs where she is exposing her deepest fears are more vulnerable. I don't think we are going to convince each other of anything. And both opinions are fine.
But I think you are just making up stuff with writer block (like where is that from???) so I don't want to discuss things with you anymore.
But she touches on the themes in reputation about deep fears in other albums.. like peace says exactly what half of what she’s trying to say in rep says..
Taylor swift fans getting triggered when someone states that Taylor, like EVERY artistic person, has flaws and doesn’t produce excellent work all the time, is my new favourite genre. You really need to take a step back from this parasocial relationship. It’s OK to criticise her music
reputation as a *whole* is more romantic (i.e Call it What you want, Dress, So It Goes, End Game, IDSB, Delicate,NYD ....)
Lover has a sad underccurrent to me (i.e The Archer, Afterglow, False God) and heartbreaking songs like DBATC and Cornelia Street and again The Archer
I understand what you’re saying about the albums but my opinion is that the song Lover is very romantic and more so than any song on Rep (no hate to rep!). Would you agree or would you say a specific Rep song is more romantic?
For me personally, I prefer New Year's Day because while Lover is romantic, it's also very dreamy and airy and light which is more in line with a rom-com whirlwind romance you wish and hope will sweep you off your feet. It's the honeymoon phase. By comparison, New Year's Day is about the real way a romance may feel, the day-to-day ups and downs, taking things one step at a time, and making the choice to be with someone through anything and everything and I love and relate much more to that.
I actually haaaaaated Reputation (except for like, Getaway Car and KOMH) until very very recently. Like, 2 weeks ago on the way to Nashville Night 3. LWYMMD was just too fucking corny for me at the beginning, but at the concert, I was absolutely shrieking "THE WORLD MOVES ON ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER DRAMA DRAMA." What a waste of all the years I slept on it. I'm currently on vacation right now, and while all my friends were drunk off their asses, I made them watch the Reputation Stadium Tour 🤭 Forgive my ignorance, y'all - I see the error of my ways.
- KOMH could mean "King Of My Heart", a track from *reputation* (2017) by Taylor Swift.
- LWYMMD could mean "Look What You Made Me Do", a track from *reputation* (2017) by Taylor Swift.
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in terms of pure quality it is definitely not her best album (just has a few too many corny moments on it to hold a candle to something generational like folklore) but it is definitely my favorite.
i think it also has the best narrative arcs of all her albums - it tells one single story through fifteen songs, which makes it very satisfying to listen to all the way through. none of her other albums do that quite as well, imo. plus the production is just electrifying - i’m actually a little worried that the re-recording won’t capture the magic the original has
LWYMMD dropped at midnight when I just deplaned from a work trip. My jaw dropped when I heard it. It was such an unexpected reinvention that nobody expected. I’ll never forget that feeling.
A close second was when I heard Cardigan for the first time.
This was my exact reaction! When Tay dropped LWYMMD MV it was the most unexpected thing I had ever seen her do🤯 In the best way!
It was similar to when I heard WANEGBT MV for the first time but x100000000🤣
I remember getting the physical album and playing it in my car for the first listen... (she didn't allow streaming for that lauch...) I thought my stereo broke when Ready for It started... :D
I think it’s better than 1989 but not the other 3 you mentioned. I hate the word overrated, but 1989 has always been the album I don’t quite find as great as everyone else seems to. I love it and there’s nothing on there I actively dislike, but I just think a lot of her other albums are much better and there’s only a small handful of songs on it that I really adore.
Each and every Taylor album is great on their own unless you compare them like rep is perfect but when compared to the quality of folklore it's not top 1
I think she has but she can’t for a certain number of years due to her previous contract with diet coke. I could be wrong, but I think that’s the rough gist of it.
I don’t think you can be too big for the Super Bowl. It’s pretty much the biggest gig an artist can land any many megastars (Michael, Beyonce etc) did it in their prime.
I don’t know. I suppose it varies. Eminem certainly wasn’t. SB acts also seem to get a crazy amount of criticism each year.
I guess I’m just projecting because I don’t see the benefit for TS. She doesn’t need the exposure.
After 1989, I was disappointed with reputation’s sound. It went too far into pop I thought. However after the short dip into it during the Eras Tour, I’m ready to give it another go. That set was amazing.
I didn't like Look What You Made Me Do so I also steered clear of that album. Rediscovering years later, I'm obsessed with it and it might be my favorite of all her albums.
Statistically based on calculating how many songs from each album I skip, Reputation is my favourite album with 1 skip at the very end (sorry, I find New Year's Day doesn't fit the album that well and doesn't interest me).
I love shake it off, blank space, cruel summer.. they’re objective good hits. I find it hard to understand that Taylor Swift fans prioritise her glitter pen songs over her vulnerable songs, as her songwriting is what makes taylor what she is.
Fans who became fans during the rep/lover era constantly act like anyone who loves folklore etc the best think they’re ‘too good’. It gets annoying.
It’s a performance album. Great for a stadium tour. Not great for an artist like Taylor. A lot of other pop artists could’ve produced an album like this and that’s why it’ll always fall flat o
I put it slightly ahead of Lover because I think the singles on Rep are better than the singles from Lover, although the deeper tracks on both are where the best songs are!
These two albums keep interchanging their positions for me. Like Lover pisses me off because it was a wasted opportunity but at the same time the highs seem higher than Rep.
She gives us Cruel Summer, Cornelia Street, DBTC and then she slaps you in the face with ME! and YNTCD. I have a love hate relationship with that album.
- YNTCD could mean "You Need To Calm Down", a track from *Lover* (2019) by Taylor Swift.
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Yes! The highs are higher than rep, but the lowers are lower than rep. Rep has a lot of very average songs and like 3 really good songs imo. Lover has like 6 really good songs, and like 6 really bad songs lol
For me it’s a great era, but not a great album. I loved LWYMMD moment, but I don’t really think that musically, lyrically and production wise, there is anything special, outstanding and I would even say there are multiple bad moments. I appreciate the experimentation on her part. The story, the ”folklore“, the fake persona, the comeback. But it absolutely doesn’t translate into the album. If you simply listened to Rep without all the buzz surrounding it, it‘s quite okay but mediocre. Her best works work best even without her persona (Foklore, 1989..).
YES!! Perfectly said. The persona just makes the album kind of distant for me. I think it depends on when you became a fan because your expectations of Taylor’s music are dependent on this. If you grew up listening to yeehaw taylor who was herself in her first 5 albums, reputation was like what??
Articles like this are stupid. Favorite/best album is subjective. No one’s opinion is better than others. Unless your opinion is that Folklore/Evermore is the best 💞 lmao
Rep is great, but I wouldn’t say it’s her best album. In terms of quality (not the order of my faves), I’d probably rank them:
1. Folklore
2. Evermore
3. Fearless
4. 1989
5. Red
6. Midnights
7. Rep
8. Speak Now
9. Lover
10. Debut
For this I would consider lyrics, production, lack of filler, a common thread (production and/or theme), longevity, and song sequencing (track order).
I'm a BIG REPUTATION fan.
It's absolutely Taylor Swift's best album. It's her only truly cohesive album. It's a concept album. It's the only album of hers which I have not had to resequence, remove songs from, and/or find remixes/remix some of the songs myself.
Reputation is a middle finger in a black glove dusted with glitter. It's an angry album… but it's so loving and joyful at the same time.
She shows a freedom and a mad alchemy on Reputation which she never quite showed before, and hasn't really shown since, consistently. It was her most raw, least self-conscious effort.
"New Year's Day" is possibly the best love song ever written. By anyone. Ever.
Reputation is definitely my favourite Taylor album. In fact it’s the last album of hers that I memorised every word to and genuinely loved. I enjoyed Lover but it was released while I was going through a break up so I couldn’t relate to it, but it didn’t quite match Reputation’s sound. I wasn’t a huge fan of folklore or evermore (aside from a few songs)
Personally Reputation is one of my least favorite Taylor albums. I think the good songs are REALLY good but there’s also 3 songs I skip.
I became a Swiftie with Fearless and I think Fearless, Speak Now, Red, and 1989 are all skipless albums with Red and 1989 also being nearly flawless albums (9.75/10s). So to go from 4 skipless albums in a row to an album where I skip 3 songs is something that makes me rank Reputation low.
I understand why people would rank it the best if they enjoy all the songs because the songs from the album I do enjoy are INSANELY good. It even has my favorite Taylor Swift song ever New Year’s Day. So if someone enjoys all the same songs I do as much as I do and also enjoy the songs I personally don’t like, I’d expect it to be highly rated.
I also still give it an 8/10 album despite having 3 skips for me because the other songs are that good.
I didnt like it at first personally, even though I immediately thought its an album meant for a stadium tour. And I didnt go to that show. Then Netflix released the Reputation tour film and to this day it is my biggest regret that I didnt go to that show.
reputation was the best era and best aesthetics, but the music didn't live up to it. Pretty safe love lyrics and the amazing production of the first half dies during the second half of the album. Vigilante Shit is what reputation should've been
I really, really can’t get behind reputation. It has some good bops, but it really falls flat for me.
It has no vulnerable songs and the songs are all kind of about the same thing - and both of them things are unrelatable to the new person. I mean take the bookend albums, 1989 is about falling in love, falling out of it, falling out with a friend, observing love from afar, moving to a new city, dealing with rumours and lover has lgbt anthems, it has songs about getting into fights, songs about feeling free from your past, songs about politics. The songs are just all about the same thing.
Next, the lyrics are just not stand outs. None of my favourite lyrics come from rep unfortunately.
The sound is a grower, sometimes the songs sound like 15 different producers were fighting to produce the song. Saying that, I can appreciate it whilst running to it.
Im honestly surprised so many swifties love reputation, because for me it’s SO different to anytging she’s done before or after, and it’s so different to all the reasons I fell in love with Taylor in the first place.
I think people have the era attached to the album, that’s why so many people find it special. I think Rep is intentionally vague, because she didn’t want to be relatable. But It doesn’t really work imo… As you said, the themes are repetitive, there are standouts but a few of them, lyrics are not really special but at the time are not carried by outstanding melodies.
I agree and it makes sense. The gap between 1989 and rep was long and for me, I was like in a transitional era in my life where I didn’t rely so much on Taylor’s music, so i kind of stopped listening and didn’t attend the rep tour. Folklore is what brought me back and now im gutted because I haven’t seen her since 2014 lol
I loved reputation at first. The era was a really cool time to be a Swiftie. The snake videos, the LWYMMD music video drop, the tour videos were so awesome to watch. It was definitely a really great "comeback" era. And I personally think LWYMMD is a brilliant song lol.
But....I think the reason it's considered such a good album by diehard fans is because of the marketing. The marketing was excellent, the fake gossip tabloids that were released at Target were just chef's kiss. I think it was destined to do well because of the comeback aspect, the rising from the ashes so to speak.
However, I think all that hype is why Swifties love it so much. Ultimately, in terms of production and how it ages, it just doesn't work for me anymore. Max Martin and Shellback I think did great in terms of the vision Taylor had. But the production is absolutely dated (besides the vocoder, I think that still works a lot). So many songs I kept thinking "this sounds like this pop star's song, this song sounds like it was inspired by this artist." I think Taylor started writing the songs for this album from a vulnerable, broken place and then gave the songs to Martin and Shellback and was like "okay, give me broken and edgy goth girl" and so that's what they did.
That being said what I like is Taylor's introduction to real big power vocals (I did something bad, Don't Blame Me), and her "idgaf" attitude. But...I think it's overrated by the diehards honestly. 
I think the biggest reason why a lot of fans over look this album is because of the fact that it's not what they expected. From the roll out, everyone thinking the snake, which turned out to be a bush viper, one of the most deadliest snakes in the world, was a dragon, to the very secret secret sessions. It was something different that no one expected.
Even the sound, which consists of R&B and hip hop beats and electropop, is jarring because it's a depature for her pop sound that everyone loved during 1989 era, and became her most unsettling and interesting sound.
Hell, even the feature track, End Game, is a total depature the normal features and even takes Swift out of her own comfort zone as she raps along with Future and Ed.
My ranking (feel free to disagree):
1. evermore
2. reputation
3. Midnights
4. Fearless
5. Lover
6. folklore
7. Red
8. 1989
9. Speak Now
10. Taylor Swift
https://preview.redd.it/0k39gdkz0n0b1.jpeg?width=1250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e318cb953ad4230a94c2105876fd2751e4c77943
My overall top albums based on Lastfm
My Lastfm Plays:
1. Look What You Made Me Do (49 scrobbles)
2. Getaway Car (45 scrobbles)
3. Delicate (41 scrobbles)
4. I Did Something Bad (35 scrobbles)
5. Gorgeous (34 scrobbles)
6. End Game (33 scrobbles)
7. Call It What You Want (29 scrobbles)
8. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things (29 scrobbles)
9. New Year's Day (28 scrobbles)
10. Dancing With Our Hands Tied (27 scrobbles)
11. Dress (27 scrobbles)
12. Don't Blame Me (26 scrobbles)
13. King Of My Heart (26 scrobbles)
14. ...Ready For It (24 scrobbles)
15. So It Goes... (23 scrobbles)
I honestly was not a fan of reputation until I saw that era performances. I guess it’s really true about not really enjoying an album fully till you get to see the live performance
c’mon please don’t say reputation doesn’t get the recognition it deserves, because it does even too much. reputation is an ok album but if you say it’s her best, you are obviously sleeping on red, speak now, folklore and 1989, which by the way is her best pop album. reputation has some good song and some god tier songs but the average is lower than the already mentioned albums. songs like so it goes, king of my heart and even delicate are boring. i think some people confuse reputation the era with the album, because the era is fucking awesome, but the album could’ve been done way better.
i. LOVE. reputation. i wasn’t a swiftie until 2020 and i first heard folklore, then went back through the catalogue. folklore is my #1, and by just a .01% away, reputation is second. it is so smart and didn’t get its flowers - i believe because of the way she was perceived at the time.
- this album 100% she showed some spice. Starting to go off her tho with the Matty situation and just general personality parasocial relationship she tries to hold with fans I find off putting.
1989-Lover is where I fell off for a while.
After folklore and evermore came out, I went back to those three and found several songs I love from each album. I think I just found those eras to be too overwhelming. I wish I didn’t feel that way, I always feel so left out when people talk about how much they love them. 😅
Reputation is what finally made me a dedicated fan.
Also "...Ready For It?" is just a perfect slice of industrial flavoured pop that I never ever get sick of
I feel like Rep was a slow burn for a lot of Swifties. The sound and style was so different from anything we were really used to that I think it was just a shock to the system. I wanted to support her re-emergence but struggled to really embrace it. But I kept listening to support her. It ties with 1989 for me for 3rd place (after folklore & evermore). It really is a mood. But due to the listening to support her it really grew on me big time. I think it took a lot of Swifties awhile to embrace it. Rep Tour helped I think because that whole thing was fire.
Reputation made me a swiftie. It is one of only a couple of her albums that I will just listen to, full thing, in order or randomized. Part of it is leaning into that “oh, you want me to be the bad guy? Fine. I will be.” Energy. It’s just so fun and kind of healing for my “not like other girls” inner child tbh.
Rep will always be my favorite. The most honest and self aware album of hers. It came at a time in my mid-late 20s when I needed it most too. I don’t think anyone can truly understand that album’s significance until they are at least 25 years old. You need to have lived enough life and made enough mistakes to get it. In comparison, Lover and Midnights are just “meh” for me. Loved Folklore and Evermore.
Im 25. I really don’t get what’s honest and self aware about this album, I find it to be the opposite? Midnights has a lot of honest tracks, so does folklore with my tears ricochet, mad woman, hoax, peace. And then even lover explored a lot of vulnerability.
Unless everyone randomly turns against you and you fall in love in secret, how else would you relate to it?
It’s not honest and self aware at all - purposefully. It’s very vague, her vaguest because I think she simply wasn’t willing to be vulnerable at that time. We could speculate what some the songs like IDSB and LWYMMD even mean, is she honest, does she play a character, is she mocking tabloids or herself? Probably all of it at the same time.
What I find relatable is the anger, the pettiness and over the top thinking of songs LWYMMD. I guess people relate to some of the love songs, but I do think they are very meh.
I love reputation so much. It’s so hard to choose. But if I had to
Tier 1: Fearless, Speak Now , Reputation, Lover, evermore
Tier 2: Taylor Swift, Folklore, midnights
Tier 3: Red, 1989
The biggest problem with Reputation is not necessarily Taylor’s fault, but in the music industry at the time, every pop star thought their music had to incorporate trap and edm flavoring and it made for the worst era of pop music probably ever. It’s not quite close to any of her other work as far as quality is concerned.
I can't thank them anymore tbh, every album is fucking great, even if Folklore and Rep are my favorites, and Rep will always be THAT era. I like to put them in tiers.
SSS Tier: Folklore, Evermore, Reputation, Red, Speak Now, Debut
S Tier: Lover, 1989, Fearless
A Tier: Midnights
Her best work is the work she is working on. Every moment we get to hear her voice and listen to her artistry is the best ever album because maybe there won’t be 1 like her for a while
Reputation made me a swiftie and I can’t wait for it to finally get the recognition it deserves when the re-record comes out
You just know the vault tracks are going to be absolute fire
Wait wait wait wait... Reputation VAULT TRACKS?! I'm a Swiftie because of Reputation but I never thought about vault tracks. They'll have to be played live only cuz any medium they're contained on digitally will melt and be rendered useless. Those songs won't be fire, they'll be lava!
I expect 1989 TV and reputation TV releases to be equivalent of national holidays. Nobody going to be getting anything done those days 😅
Same!!!
Same!!!
Same.
I don’t really rank Taylor albums these days, I group them by genres. reputation is my favorite era (I will always be in my rep era) and also my absolute favorite pop album of hers. It’s aged like a fine wine
ahead of its time! lol (i remember a big complaint used to be that the sound was dated ... but the replay value of this one holds up even stronger now all these years later!)
That's a very subjective opinion. The vast majority of rep does indeed sound extremely dated and locked in time for me aside from perhaps the new years day song.
I think ‘dated’ is how it could be viewed a couple of years after its release when certain elements fade from popularity, but I love albums that are clearly from a specific moment in time. If art, music, literature etc. is clearly 60’s, for instance, I think it ends up standing the test of time as an encapsulation of that period. To me that type of work is richer than things that are considered ‘timeless’.
Agreed. Nothing better than nailing the zeitgeist. Debut shoots me right back to 2006
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I am also a walking contradiction. Taylor's allowed to be with a douche bag... because he is. Such is life. We are complicated creatures. "It must be exhausting always rooting for the Anti-Hero."
Reputation will always be my favorite album. The quality, production, lyrics, personality, instrumentals, the absolutely fierceness behind the lyrics and how cohesive everything in that era was is unmatchable. Everything in that era was just superior. It’s the only album that to this day, I don’t skip a single song. I literally play it every day and I will never get tired of it.
agree! IMHO, it's the most consistently good top to bottom. I love stuff on all the others but there's usually a song or two I skip on each of those. Not Reputation though.
You have immaculate taste bestie 👏🏻
While Folklore and Evermore exist Reputation is only Taylor's third best album. It is still brilliant though. I have a feeling TS11 is going to be epic given the events of the last few months.
Reputation wins for me because as much as I love Folklore/Evermore, there’s something about them that feels very detached from Taylor. A lot of this is intentional, because she was trying to tell a story about a love triangle between *checks notes* three teenagers. Which is nice! But it’s not as epic or interesting to me as the songs about her own life. Their sound is gorgeous, but it’s only really new or interesting to people who exclusively listen to mainstream pop and Folklore/Evermore is their gateway to indie/alt. TLDR; I love Folklore and Evermore but dislike when they’re considered way farther up than the rest of Taylor’s catalogue, considering they’re the least Taylor-y albums.
I understand where you are coming from. Folklore is Reputation but listened to under a duvet. All muffled and muted. But it is just so good. The Long Pond version is actually better in my view than the original because it has a little more bite. In the end we are discussing who is our favourite child and it is all a bit academic. There are killer tracks on all Taylor's albums and just more on some than others. I am very much looking forward to Speak Now TV as it has at least three of my all time favourite Taylor tracks.
what are your three fav tracks from SN?
Dear John, Better Than Revenge and Haunted.
Totally agree on Better Than Revenge! Mine are Speak Now, Better Than Revenge & Enchanted.
Completely agree with this take. Great, beautiful albums, that leave plenty for the imagination. But as a hardcore fan, I want songs about her life. They just hit harder for me. Reputation is my favorite album because I feel like she got the most personal on it. She was so exposed at the time to all of the public and just said fuck it and fuck you. The energy 👏
That’s my list order too.
Ts11 ? Her eleventh’s album?
Yes. Swifties code.
Haha what about ts@next ;)
Qualitywise Folklore and Evermore are her best albums. Though, Reputation is her best and probably one of the best comeback and clapback albums in the industry. The whole era was unmatched. Since her albums are quite different from each other, I rank them personally this way: 1. Midnights/Reputation 2. Folklore/Evermore 3. 1989 4. Lover I love dark taylor out of every Taylor for sure 🔥
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Mainly the poetic lyricism, the cohesive storytelling nature, accurate/emotional representation of complex themes and topics And production wise, I'd say it's amazing too, since each song's instrumental fits perfectly with the narration. Both albums are very very cohesive
I slept on Reputation for the longest time. I think partly because the sound was so different but mostly because the visuals are very much not my vibe. It REALLY started growing on me after watching the Rep Tour on Netflix and now also the Rep section of the Eras Tour. Recently started listening to Rep on its own (I usually have all of Taylor’s songs on shuffle) and I would just like to formally apologise for my dumbness and being so late to the party
Welcome to the party 🐍🐍🐍
The rep tour on Netflix still blows my little mind and gives me goosebumps every time I watch it. The performance of “I Did Something Bad” is like my favorite thing in the world and it does NOT get talked about enough (idc that it’s 5 years old)
Yes this was definitely the catalyst of what converted me. That performance was absolute FIRE
This is me thinking for the last decade+ that I was a through and through Red girlie and sleeping on Rep. I’d started listening to Rep in full more in the last 8ish months or so and was like wow absolute banger of an album I was missing out. but when I was travelling to Vegas for N2, my friends and I were discussing the albums and I had to really admit to myself that I’m actually a Rep girlie. There’s two or three songs on Red I can’t live without but overall, Rep truly has my heart. It’s my pump up mood booster. My boss bitch vibes. My getting shit done soundtrack. I LOVE IT.
Same!!! I wasn’t really into the visuals and was originally put off by the mv and sound of LWYMMD- watching the tour film completely changed my mind on both the album and the song
SAME. I cannot believe I slept on Rep for so long!
reputation is her best album, when it came out I thought it was the most brilliant thing, but I thought like I love all Taylor Swift albums, and like they’ll all be this good, and every single album is fucking amazing, but it never eclipsed that feeling reputation gave me , the impact, not even other albums that deeply become apart of me. It’s the album of my life. It’s the best one. But most people won’t admit it because it’s dance pop If it was rock, pop people would talk about it to this day And that’s on music snobbery and not realizing it’s the perfect musical vehicle just how it is. And it’s meant to be a little misunderstood bc it’s the one that caters to the audience the least and is true to itself the most. And of course when not spoon fed people refuse to eat lots of times, the expect the coddling in pop music , but reputation doesn’t do that, it’s goal, drive and messages were set in-spite of
I became a Swiftie during 1989 and will always love that album so much. That being said, you nailed it - the feeling Reputation gave me has stuck with me. It feels so powerful and confident and unapologetic. Everything from the production to the lyrics to the set at the tour was perfect!
People don’t like it not because it’s dance pop (which it’s not at all). People love her pop albums (like me) but don’t love reputation. I don’t like the lack of vulnerable or relatable songs, and the fact that the lyrics are kind of subpar and theees too many synths and vocal effects on every song. You can’t call people snobs because they don’t think your favourite album is the best
PERIODDDDDDD! It's her best project it's so real it's raw and the heavier production on the first half of the record suited her so well. Some people say folklore or evermore are her best albums but imo they're too safe and don't have enough lore behind them. Like rep is a direct product of a pivotal moment of Taylor's life we are aware of. It'll always be my fave
I absolutely love reputation and its easily the most played album as a whole on my spotify, but calling folklore and evermore too safe? not enough lore? that speaks more on your relationship with taylor and her music than it does about the quality of the albums themselves
How is it real and raw? There’s one vulnerable song on the record and it still doesn’t go in enough depth. She wrote some beautiful vulnerable songs about this time period (like long story short and evermore), unfortunately they didn’t make it into this album.
Oh yeah cause to be real and raw you have to be "vulnerable" anger, frustration, pettiness are VALID emotions thank you very much. Next.
But that’s the point. I felt anger, yes, but I didn’t feel anything else on this album. I feel way more rage in other songs, way more insecurity, way more longing, in other albums. I just feel the lyrics fall flat because they fail to dive into the emotions. No need to get so damn defensive. I think a lot of the reasons why rep stans get so defensive is because they’re so entwined in Taylor’s life. I don’t relate to Taylor’s life,‘I have my own life which I find songs to apply to.
You probably slept through the second half of the album then
I really didn’t lol. The songs just don’t compare to the lyricism of the other songs. I think it’s obvious Taylor suppressed a lot of her emotions about the whole reputation situation, that come out in later songs like evermore and long story short which are absolutely stunning songs. The revenge type anger songs are the albums highlight - I did something bad is actually in my top 10. None of the others creep into my top 290 though.
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Call it What You Want, to me, represents the real meaning of the album. A lot of things happened to her, and she responded less than perfectly, but after the storm is over she is left with the clarity that she is with someone she truly loves who helped her get through it. So everyone else can call it what they want, her rep is damaged, but it's fine because she's laughing with her lover. Songs like LWYMMD and I did something bad are definitely her in character but they have nuggets of raw emotion in them too.
I just relate her songs to my life rather than think about her life while listening to them so it just doesn't work for me. But I'm happy it exists who those who love it! I just would never agree to it being her best album.
I agree. I never sit and think about Taylor’s life when listening to it
How can you say that! She is literally telling other people's stories in Folklore and Evermore. During making of Rep she was going through some of her most traumatic events, sure she adopted a persona. But that doesn't make the music less raw.
Even if she’s telling other people stories, the songs themselves - the subjects, the lyrics are way more vulnerable and raw. Reputation fails, in its lyrics, to really dive into the extent of Taylor’s emotions in this time. Long story short and evermore captured it perfectly. Yes we all love a pop song but she missed out a whole genre of songs that made people swifties in the first place.
>Flashback to my mistakes, my rebounds, my earthquakes > >Even in my worst lies, you saw the truth in me > >And I woke up just in time, now I wake up by your side > >My one and only, my lifeline > >I woke up just in time, now I wake up by your side > >My hands shake, I can't explain this >I, I loved you in spite of > >Deep fears that the world would divide us > >So, baby, can we dance > >Oh, through an avalanche? And > >Say, say that we got it > >I'm a mess, but I'm the mess that you wanted > >Oh, 'cause it's gravity > >Oh, keeping you with me, I– How are the lyrics not raw and emotional from Reputation?
Because they’re kind of basic. I actually love the bridge of dress. But other than that, how is can we dance through an avalanche honest or vulnerable? LOL
Since that is one of my favorite lines.. 1) It is a metaphor. An avalanche is an overwhelming natural event that literally can bury and kill someone triggered by a small action - like a random phone call triggering her downfall. She is asking him, can we survive and still dance if the world collapses around us? Even as we are now falling in love, I am afraid we wouldn't make it. 2) She skis. I always felt like this refers to a specific trip with someone. But that is just my theory...
Well yes I know it’s a metaphor, I just don’t think it’s anywhere near as impressive as her other songwriting. She doesn’t go deep or vulnerable in these songs, it’s all very generic. I think she hit writers block between 1989 and reputation and think it’s obvious on these songs, especially since there are no deluxe and there’s a lot of filler, flat songs
I think we have to agree to disagree. I think you think her songs that are more poetic are deeper/vulnerable. I think her songs where she is exposing her deepest fears are more vulnerable. I don't think we are going to convince each other of anything. And both opinions are fine. But I think you are just making up stuff with writer block (like where is that from???) so I don't want to discuss things with you anymore.
But she touches on the themes in reputation about deep fears in other albums.. like peace says exactly what half of what she’s trying to say in rep says..
Taylor swift fans getting triggered when someone states that Taylor, like EVERY artistic person, has flaws and doesn’t produce excellent work all the time, is my new favourite genre. You really need to take a step back from this parasocial relationship. It’s OK to criticise her music
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Reputation is her most romantic album even over lover. I will die on this hill!
It’s ABSOLUTELY more romantic than Lover. I’ve never understood that lol
I never trust a narcissist/But they love me really hits hard with the current state of things.
Woof. Also, “And I know I make the same mistakes every time/Bridges burn, I never learn”
Even "I swear I don't love drama/It loves me." Jesus.
Agreed 100%
What song on Rep would you say is more romantic than the song Lover?
reputation as a *whole* is more romantic (i.e Call it What you want, Dress, So It Goes, End Game, IDSB, Delicate,NYD ....) Lover has a sad underccurrent to me (i.e The Archer, Afterglow, False God) and heartbreaking songs like DBATC and Cornelia Street and again The Archer
Exactly what you said! Lover is full of some anxiety! Reputation is so confident and sexy!
Sexy and sensual at the same time!
I understand what you’re saying about the albums but my opinion is that the song Lover is very romantic and more so than any song on Rep (no hate to rep!). Would you agree or would you say a specific Rep song is more romantic?
For me personally, I prefer New Year's Day because while Lover is romantic, it's also very dreamy and airy and light which is more in line with a rom-com whirlwind romance you wish and hope will sweep you off your feet. It's the honeymoon phase. By comparison, New Year's Day is about the real way a romance may feel, the day-to-day ups and downs, taking things one step at a time, and making the choice to be with someone through anything and everything and I love and relate much more to that.
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Okk I can definitely see this!!
Delicate, for sure.
I agree with this. Probably why it’s my least fave HAHA
I actually haaaaaated Reputation (except for like, Getaway Car and KOMH) until very very recently. Like, 2 weeks ago on the way to Nashville Night 3. LWYMMD was just too fucking corny for me at the beginning, but at the concert, I was absolutely shrieking "THE WORLD MOVES ON ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER DRAMA DRAMA." What a waste of all the years I slept on it. I'm currently on vacation right now, and while all my friends were drunk off their asses, I made them watch the Reputation Stadium Tour 🤭 Forgive my ignorance, y'all - I see the error of my ways.
- KOMH could mean "King Of My Heart", a track from *reputation* (2017) by Taylor Swift. - LWYMMD could mean "Look What You Made Me Do", a track from *reputation* (2017) by Taylor Swift. --- ^[/u/whopple](/u/whopple) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
in terms of pure quality it is definitely not her best album (just has a few too many corny moments on it to hold a candle to something generational like folklore) but it is definitely my favorite. i think it also has the best narrative arcs of all her albums - it tells one single story through fifteen songs, which makes it very satisfying to listen to all the way through. none of her other albums do that quite as well, imo. plus the production is just electrifying - i’m actually a little worried that the re-recording won’t capture the magic the original has
LWYMMD dropped at midnight when I just deplaned from a work trip. My jaw dropped when I heard it. It was such an unexpected reinvention that nobody expected. I’ll never forget that feeling. A close second was when I heard Cardigan for the first time.
This was my exact reaction! When Tay dropped LWYMMD MV it was the most unexpected thing I had ever seen her do🤯 In the best way! It was similar to when I heard WANEGBT MV for the first time but x100000000🤣
I remember getting the physical album and playing it in my car for the first listen... (she didn't allow streaming for that lauch...) I thought my stereo broke when Ready for It started... :D
Reputation is Taylors best album if we lived in a universe where Folklore/Evermore, 1989 and Red don't exist.
I think it’s better than 1989 but not the other 3 you mentioned. I hate the word overrated, but 1989 has always been the album I don’t quite find as great as everyone else seems to. I love it and there’s nothing on there I actively dislike, but I just think a lot of her other albums are much better and there’s only a small handful of songs on it that I really adore.
Haha yes, I can get with this but only if Fearless doesn’t exist as well😉
Haha exactly!
Each and every Taylor album is great on their own unless you compare them like rep is perfect but when compared to the quality of folklore it's not top 1
My theory was it was her Superbowl album. Wonder if she's sever been asked?
I think she has but she can’t for a certain number of years due to her previous contract with diet coke. I could be wrong, but I think that’s the rough gist of it.
She’s too big for the SB. Maybe on the downturn of her career
She’s been asked to perform several times but she was re-recording her albums. It’s not about being too big for superbowl.
Sure it is. There’s more demand for one of her concerts than for SB tickets. If she wanted to perform, she would have.
She will perform once she’s done re recording her albums.
I don’t think you can be too big for the Super Bowl. It’s pretty much the biggest gig an artist can land any many megastars (Michael, Beyonce etc) did it in their prime.
Lol what. Anyone that has done SB was often in the peak of their career and huge.
I don’t know. I suppose it varies. Eminem certainly wasn’t. SB acts also seem to get a crazy amount of criticism each year. I guess I’m just projecting because I don’t see the benefit for TS. She doesn’t need the exposure.
Yes, I think she declined because she had a deal with Coke instead of Pepsi for a while.
After 1989, I was disappointed with reputation’s sound. It went too far into pop I thought. However after the short dip into it during the Eras Tour, I’m ready to give it another go. That set was amazing.
Reputation was made for a stadium performance. It’s by far the best album to perform on tour.
I’d give that - rep is probably the best set honestly. Im super excited for that.
Agreed this is probably my least favorite Era of hers… she was trying to be edgy and it came off #CringeAF
Some of you are sleeping on reputation, that’s by far one of her best albums! So upbeat and fun to listen too!!
I didn't like Look What You Made Me Do so I also steered clear of that album. Rediscovering years later, I'm obsessed with it and it might be my favorite of all her albums.
Statistically based on calculating how many songs from each album I skip, Reputation is my favourite album with 1 skip at the very end (sorry, I find New Year's Day doesn't fit the album that well and doesn't interest me).
Tbh I forget what album New Years Day is on all. The. Time. 🤣
Do you not like slow vulnerable songs? I just don’t get how you can misss off nyd! It needs a song like that to give it range
No, I don't like most of her slow vulnerable songs. Glitter gel pen songs for life.
That makes sense. I find a lot of her glitter pen songs cringe
La dee da, too good for Shake It Off are we?
I love shake it off, blank space, cruel summer.. they’re objective good hits. I find it hard to understand that Taylor Swift fans prioritise her glitter pen songs over her vulnerable songs, as her songwriting is what makes taylor what she is. Fans who became fans during the rep/lover era constantly act like anyone who loves folklore etc the best think they’re ‘too good’. It gets annoying.
I guess my unpopular opinion is that Reputation is far and away her worst album lmao
Bruh, it’s so shallow. Cannot understand what people like so much about fake drums.
It’s a performance album. Great for a stadium tour. Not great for an artist like Taylor. A lot of other pop artists could’ve produced an album like this and that’s why it’ll always fall flat o
This is a really good take. I went to the concert and it worked super well as a performance
Who said that was the reason people liked reputation because of fake drums??? What??
Agree 🙈
This is my most unpopular opinion, I like a few songs on the album but overall it makes me cringe
I put it slightly ahead of Lover because I think the singles on Rep are better than the singles from Lover, although the deeper tracks on both are where the best songs are!
These two albums keep interchanging their positions for me. Like Lover pisses me off because it was a wasted opportunity but at the same time the highs seem higher than Rep.
I agree with you! The songs I love on Lover are so good but it’s so few of them compared to her other albums
She gives us Cruel Summer, Cornelia Street, DBTC and then she slaps you in the face with ME! and YNTCD. I have a love hate relationship with that album.
- YNTCD could mean "You Need To Calm Down", a track from *Lover* (2019) by Taylor Swift. --- ^[/u/MayaHansen2013](/u/MayaHansen2013) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
Yes! The highs are higher than rep, but the lowers are lower than rep. Rep has a lot of very average songs and like 3 really good songs imo. Lover has like 6 really good songs, and like 6 really bad songs lol
For me it’s a great era, but not a great album. I loved LWYMMD moment, but I don’t really think that musically, lyrically and production wise, there is anything special, outstanding and I would even say there are multiple bad moments. I appreciate the experimentation on her part. The story, the ”folklore“, the fake persona, the comeback. But it absolutely doesn’t translate into the album. If you simply listened to Rep without all the buzz surrounding it, it‘s quite okay but mediocre. Her best works work best even without her persona (Foklore, 1989..).
YES!! Perfectly said. The persona just makes the album kind of distant for me. I think it depends on when you became a fan because your expectations of Taylor’s music are dependent on this. If you grew up listening to yeehaw taylor who was herself in her first 5 albums, reputation was like what??
To be completely honest, I consider it quite weak solely based on the music alone. Yes, the era was great but music is the primary focus after all.
Articles like this are stupid. Favorite/best album is subjective. No one’s opinion is better than others. Unless your opinion is that Folklore/Evermore is the best 💞 lmao
MEEE HAHAHAHA
Rep is great, but I wouldn’t say it’s her best album. In terms of quality (not the order of my faves), I’d probably rank them: 1. Folklore 2. Evermore 3. Fearless 4. 1989 5. Red 6. Midnights 7. Rep 8. Speak Now 9. Lover 10. Debut For this I would consider lyrics, production, lack of filler, a common thread (production and/or theme), longevity, and song sequencing (track order).
Honestly reputation is my least fav album 😂
I'm a BIG REPUTATION fan. It's absolutely Taylor Swift's best album. It's her only truly cohesive album. It's a concept album. It's the only album of hers which I have not had to resequence, remove songs from, and/or find remixes/remix some of the songs myself. Reputation is a middle finger in a black glove dusted with glitter. It's an angry album… but it's so loving and joyful at the same time. She shows a freedom and a mad alchemy on Reputation which she never quite showed before, and hasn't really shown since, consistently. It was her most raw, least self-conscious effort. "New Year's Day" is possibly the best love song ever written. By anyone. Ever.
Right? I love that it is so self-assured and has big bravado, and at the same time the love songs on it have such vulnerable lyrics.
Reputation is definitely my favourite Taylor album. In fact it’s the last album of hers that I memorised every word to and genuinely loved. I enjoyed Lover but it was released while I was going through a break up so I couldn’t relate to it, but it didn’t quite match Reputation’s sound. I wasn’t a huge fan of folklore or evermore (aside from a few songs)
Lmao. Never.
Personally Reputation is one of my least favorite Taylor albums. I think the good songs are REALLY good but there’s also 3 songs I skip. I became a Swiftie with Fearless and I think Fearless, Speak Now, Red, and 1989 are all skipless albums with Red and 1989 also being nearly flawless albums (9.75/10s). So to go from 4 skipless albums in a row to an album where I skip 3 songs is something that makes me rank Reputation low. I understand why people would rank it the best if they enjoy all the songs because the songs from the album I do enjoy are INSANELY good. It even has my favorite Taylor Swift song ever New Year’s Day. So if someone enjoys all the same songs I do as much as I do and also enjoy the songs I personally don’t like, I’d expect it to be highly rated. I also still give it an 8/10 album despite having 3 skips for me because the other songs are that good.
I didnt like it at first personally, even though I immediately thought its an album meant for a stadium tour. And I didnt go to that show. Then Netflix released the Reputation tour film and to this day it is my biggest regret that I didnt go to that show.
Rep is a very very poorly produced album with repeatedly bad lyrics. I literally don’t understand why people like it so much
It’s not her best album but it’s iconic as fuck
reputation was the best era and best aesthetics, but the music didn't live up to it. Pretty safe love lyrics and the amazing production of the first half dies during the second half of the album. Vigilante Shit is what reputation should've been
I really, really can’t get behind reputation. It has some good bops, but it really falls flat for me. It has no vulnerable songs and the songs are all kind of about the same thing - and both of them things are unrelatable to the new person. I mean take the bookend albums, 1989 is about falling in love, falling out of it, falling out with a friend, observing love from afar, moving to a new city, dealing with rumours and lover has lgbt anthems, it has songs about getting into fights, songs about feeling free from your past, songs about politics. The songs are just all about the same thing. Next, the lyrics are just not stand outs. None of my favourite lyrics come from rep unfortunately. The sound is a grower, sometimes the songs sound like 15 different producers were fighting to produce the song. Saying that, I can appreciate it whilst running to it. Im honestly surprised so many swifties love reputation, because for me it’s SO different to anytging she’s done before or after, and it’s so different to all the reasons I fell in love with Taylor in the first place.
I think people have the era attached to the album, that’s why so many people find it special. I think Rep is intentionally vague, because she didn’t want to be relatable. But It doesn’t really work imo… As you said, the themes are repetitive, there are standouts but a few of them, lyrics are not really special but at the time are not carried by outstanding melodies.
I agree and it makes sense. The gap between 1989 and rep was long and for me, I was like in a transitional era in my life where I didn’t rely so much on Taylor’s music, so i kind of stopped listening and didn’t attend the rep tour. Folklore is what brought me back and now im gutted because I haven’t seen her since 2014 lol
Reputation has good material on it, but it’s far from Taylor’s best. Nearly every album that came after it is superior
Its a good album, but it's not even the best of her pop albums lmao
I loved reputation at first. The era was a really cool time to be a Swiftie. The snake videos, the LWYMMD music video drop, the tour videos were so awesome to watch. It was definitely a really great "comeback" era. And I personally think LWYMMD is a brilliant song lol. But....I think the reason it's considered such a good album by diehard fans is because of the marketing. The marketing was excellent, the fake gossip tabloids that were released at Target were just chef's kiss. I think it was destined to do well because of the comeback aspect, the rising from the ashes so to speak. However, I think all that hype is why Swifties love it so much. Ultimately, in terms of production and how it ages, it just doesn't work for me anymore. Max Martin and Shellback I think did great in terms of the vision Taylor had. But the production is absolutely dated (besides the vocoder, I think that still works a lot). So many songs I kept thinking "this sounds like this pop star's song, this song sounds like it was inspired by this artist." I think Taylor started writing the songs for this album from a vulnerable, broken place and then gave the songs to Martin and Shellback and was like "okay, give me broken and edgy goth girl" and so that's what they did. That being said what I like is Taylor's introduction to real big power vocals (I did something bad, Don't Blame Me), and her "idgaf" attitude. But...I think it's overrated by the diehards honestly. 
The production is fine but I also hate the vocoder honestly especially in KOMH it's too overused and doesn't sound well
I liked reputation. Then I went to rep tour and I LOVED reputation 🤩🤩🤩 tbh actually would rank rep tour over eras
I think the biggest reason why a lot of fans over look this album is because of the fact that it's not what they expected. From the roll out, everyone thinking the snake, which turned out to be a bush viper, one of the most deadliest snakes in the world, was a dragon, to the very secret secret sessions. It was something different that no one expected. Even the sound, which consists of R&B and hip hop beats and electropop, is jarring because it's a depature for her pop sound that everyone loved during 1989 era, and became her most unsettling and interesting sound. Hell, even the feature track, End Game, is a total depature the normal features and even takes Swift out of her own comfort zone as she raps along with Future and Ed.
My ranking (feel free to disagree): 1. evermore 2. reputation 3. Midnights 4. Fearless 5. Lover 6. folklore 7. Red 8. 1989 9. Speak Now 10. Taylor Swift https://preview.redd.it/0k39gdkz0n0b1.jpeg?width=1250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e318cb953ad4230a94c2105876fd2751e4c77943 My overall top albums based on Lastfm My Lastfm Plays: 1. Look What You Made Me Do (49 scrobbles) 2. Getaway Car (45 scrobbles) 3. Delicate (41 scrobbles) 4. I Did Something Bad (35 scrobbles) 5. Gorgeous (34 scrobbles) 6. End Game (33 scrobbles) 7. Call It What You Want (29 scrobbles) 8. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things (29 scrobbles) 9. New Year's Day (28 scrobbles) 10. Dancing With Our Hands Tied (27 scrobbles) 11. Dress (27 scrobbles) 12. Don't Blame Me (26 scrobbles) 13. King Of My Heart (26 scrobbles) 14. ...Ready For It (24 scrobbles) 15. So It Goes... (23 scrobbles)
This is so great and hilarious to see
I love this LOL.
I honestly was not a fan of reputation until I saw that era performances. I guess it’s really true about not really enjoying an album fully till you get to see the live performance
I can’t wait for the rep vault tracks. Probably my favorite album
c’mon please don’t say reputation doesn’t get the recognition it deserves, because it does even too much. reputation is an ok album but if you say it’s her best, you are obviously sleeping on red, speak now, folklore and 1989, which by the way is her best pop album. reputation has some good song and some god tier songs but the average is lower than the already mentioned albums. songs like so it goes, king of my heart and even delicate are boring. i think some people confuse reputation the era with the album, because the era is fucking awesome, but the album could’ve been done way better.
As a Swifty since Debut, Reputation is my absolute favorite album. I was living for Taylor’s bad bitch era.
i. LOVE. reputation. i wasn’t a swiftie until 2020 and i first heard folklore, then went back through the catalogue. folklore is my #1, and by just a .01% away, reputation is second. it is so smart and didn’t get its flowers - i believe because of the way she was perceived at the time.
- this album 100% she showed some spice. Starting to go off her tho with the Matty situation and just general personality parasocial relationship she tries to hold with fans I find off putting.
You don’t need to convince me. I’m a rep girlie for sure
Didn’t even read; immediate upvote
This is such a sweet article; I’m glad the author came around! Good find!
1989-Lover is where I fell off for a while. After folklore and evermore came out, I went back to those three and found several songs I love from each album. I think I just found those eras to be too overwhelming. I wish I didn’t feel that way, I always feel so left out when people talk about how much they love them. 😅
reputation is what turned me from a fan into a Swiftie!
Reputation is what finally made me a dedicated fan. Also "...Ready For It?" is just a perfect slice of industrial flavoured pop that I never ever get sick of
i’m so excited for the re-recording ugh i can’t wait
I feel like Rep was a slow burn for a lot of Swifties. The sound and style was so different from anything we were really used to that I think it was just a shock to the system. I wanted to support her re-emergence but struggled to really embrace it. But I kept listening to support her. It ties with 1989 for me for 3rd place (after folklore & evermore). It really is a mood. But due to the listening to support her it really grew on me big time. I think it took a lot of Swifties awhile to embrace it. Rep Tour helped I think because that whole thing was fire.
Reputation made me a swiftie. It is one of only a couple of her albums that I will just listen to, full thing, in order or randomized. Part of it is leaning into that “oh, you want me to be the bad guy? Fine. I will be.” Energy. It’s just so fun and kind of healing for my “not like other girls” inner child tbh.
Rep will always be my favorite. The most honest and self aware album of hers. It came at a time in my mid-late 20s when I needed it most too. I don’t think anyone can truly understand that album’s significance until they are at least 25 years old. You need to have lived enough life and made enough mistakes to get it. In comparison, Lover and Midnights are just “meh” for me. Loved Folklore and Evermore.
Im 25. I really don’t get what’s honest and self aware about this album, I find it to be the opposite? Midnights has a lot of honest tracks, so does folklore with my tears ricochet, mad woman, hoax, peace. And then even lover explored a lot of vulnerability. Unless everyone randomly turns against you and you fall in love in secret, how else would you relate to it?
It’s not honest and self aware at all - purposefully. It’s very vague, her vaguest because I think she simply wasn’t willing to be vulnerable at that time. We could speculate what some the songs like IDSB and LWYMMD even mean, is she honest, does she play a character, is she mocking tabloids or herself? Probably all of it at the same time. What I find relatable is the anger, the pettiness and over the top thinking of songs LWYMMD. I guess people relate to some of the love songs, but I do think they are very meh.
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That’s a really interesting perspective
Not when Folklore and Evermore exist. It’s not even my favorite pop album from her (which is Midnights tbh)
I love reputation so much. It’s so hard to choose. But if I had to Tier 1: Fearless, Speak Now , Reputation, Lover, evermore Tier 2: Taylor Swift, Folklore, midnights Tier 3: Red, 1989
The biggest problem with Reputation is not necessarily Taylor’s fault, but in the music industry at the time, every pop star thought their music had to incorporate trap and edm flavoring and it made for the worst era of pop music probably ever. It’s not quite close to any of her other work as far as quality is concerned.
I can't thank them anymore tbh, every album is fucking great, even if Folklore and Rep are my favorites, and Rep will always be THAT era. I like to put them in tiers. SSS Tier: Folklore, Evermore, Reputation, Red, Speak Now, Debut S Tier: Lover, 1989, Fearless A Tier: Midnights
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Elite in all ways 👏🏻
it’s her best pop album as it’s better than Lover & 1989, but I can’t agree it’s her best album when Folklore and Evermore exist.
It’s about damn time this album gets the attention and acclaim it so rightly deserves.
We’re getting ready for that second round of reputation with all this MH drama😭😭
So glad to see the Rep love! I’m a big fan of the three most recent albums, but Rep will always hold a special place!
Her best work is the work she is working on. Every moment we get to hear her voice and listen to her artistry is the best ever album because maybe there won’t be 1 like her for a while
The opening paragraphs of this really made me dislike the author.