Taylor Swift songs: Her top 32 greatest hits ranked, now including ‘Cruel Summer’ and ‘Karma’

Kevin Jacobsen and Daniel Montgomery
·8 min read
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What are Taylor Swift‘s very best songs? Scroll down through our countdown of her greatest hits. Does your favorite make the cut? Do you agree with our pick for number-one?

Swift has been a music star for half of her life. She was only 16 when her self-titled debut was released in 2006. That country breakthrough was certified seven-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for its massive sales, and it earned her a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. But it was her next album that exploded her career.

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“Fearless” was released in 2008, and it earned her eight Grammy nominations. She ended up winning four of those, including Album of the Year. She was 20-years-old when she took that prize, which made her the youngest artist ever to win that award, sliding in under Alanis Morissette, who was 21 when she claimed that honor for “Jagged Little Pill” in 1996. (Billie Eilish subsequently broke that record, winning in 2020 when she was 18.)

Swift was always a crossover artist, straddling the line between pop and country throughout her career, but she made an official break from her country roots with her 2014 album “1989,” which was a successful play for pop supremacy, winning her another Grammy for Album of the Year. That was an unprecedented achievement too: she was the first woman ever to win that category twice as a lead artist. Then with “Folklore” she changed up her sound again to more of a folk rock vibe and became the first women to win that award three times.

So her hits span genres and subjects — ballads about finding love, confessionals about losing love, telling her haters in the media and industry to shove off, or shaking it off if they don’t. She’s got a long list of ex-lovers, but which of her songs do you love the most? Let us know in the comments.

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32. ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ (2017)

Album: “Reputation”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, Fred Fairbrass, Richard Fairbrass, Rob Manzoli
Accolades: It broke the record for most streams in one day on Spotify and became Swift’s fifth no. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100.

31. ‘Bad Blood’ featuring Kendrick Lamar (2015)

Album: “1989”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Max Martin, Shellback
Accolades: The song was her fourth no. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 and the star-studded music video won both a Grammy and the MTV VMA for Video of the Year.

30. “Wildest Dreams” (2015)

Album: “1989”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback
Accolades: It was a top-10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

29. “Delicate” (2018)

Album: “Reputation”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift , Max Martin , Shellback
Accolades: Won Best Music Video at the iHeartRadio Music Awards and was certified double platinum by the RIAA

28. ‘ME!’ featuring Brendon Urie (2019)

Album: “Lover”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Joel Little, Brendon Urie
Accolades: The music video won Best Visual Effects at the MTV Video Music Awards at Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

27. ‘Begin Again’ (2012)

Album: “Red”
Songwriter: Taylor Swift
Accolades: The song was nominated at the Grammys for Best Country Song.

26. ‘The Man’ (2019)

Album: “Lover”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Joel Little
Accolades: The album was nominated for Best Pop Album at the Grammys, and the video, which Swift herself directed, earned a VMA nomination for Video of the Year.

25. ‘Red’ (2013)

Album: “Red”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift
Accolades: The music video earned two CMT Music Awards nominations including Video of the Year.

24. ‘I Don’t Wanna Live Forever’ with Zayn (2016)

Album: “Fifty Shades Darker: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Sam Dew, Jack Antonoff
Accolades: The duet went on to win the MTV Video Music Award for Best Collaboration and a Grammy nomination.

23. ‘Mine’ (2010)

Album: “Speak Now”
Songwriter: Taylor Swift
Accolades: The music video won Swift a third CMT Music Award for Video of the Year.

22. ‘Teardrops on My Guitar’ (2007)

Album: “Taylor Swift”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Liz Rose
Accolades: Kicked off the MTV Video Music Awards’ love affair with Swift, earning a nomination for Best New Artist in 2008.

21. ‘Tim McGraw’ (2006)

Album: “Taylor Swift”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Liz Rose
Accolades: Swift’s debut single earned her a CMT Music Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year.

20. “Exile” featuring Bon Iver (2020)

Album: “Folklore”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, William Bowery, Justin Vernon
Accolades: It was a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and it earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

19. ‘Karma’ featuring Ice Spice (2023)

Album: “Midnights”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, Sounwave, Jahaan Sweet, Keanu Beats, RiotUSA, Ice Spice
Accolades: The remix featuring Ice Spice reached number-two on the Billboard Hot 100.

18. ‘You Need to Calm Down’ (2019)

Album: “Lover”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Joel Little
Accolades: The vibrant music video won the MTV VMA for Video of the Year while the song was nominated for a Grammy.

17. ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ (2012)

Album: “Red”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback
Accolades: The song became Swift’s first to hit no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and she earned numerous awards and nominations including Record of the Year at the Grammys.

16. ‘Lover’ (2019)

Album: “Lover”
Songwriter: Taylor Swift
Accolades: “Lover” was nominated for a Grammy for Song of the Year and the Art Directors Guild Award for excellence in production design.

15. ‘Mean’ (2011)

Album: “Speak Now”
Songwriter: Taylor Swift
Accolades: The song won two Grammys, for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song.

14. “Betty” (2020)

Album: “Folklore”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, William Bowery
Accolades: It was a top-10 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.

13. ‘Safe and Sound’ featuring The Civil Wars (2011)

Album: “The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Joy Williams, John Paul White, T-Bone Burnett
Accolades: Swift earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song while the song won the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

12. ‘Cruel Summer’  (2019)

Album: “Lover”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, Annie Clark
Accolades: A surge in popularity led the song to be officially released as a single in 2023, four years after its parent album dropped. It became her 41st top-10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and it helped her set a new record for the most number-one songs on the Pop Airplay chart.

11. ‘White Horse’ (2008)

Album: “Fearless”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Liz Rose
Accolades: Swift won the Grammys for Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance for the ballad.

10. “Willow” (2020)

Album: “Evermore”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Aaron Dessner
Accolades: It debuted at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

9. ‘Anti-Hero’ (2022)

Album: “Midnights”
Songwriter: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff
Accolades: The lead single from her 10th studio album was released the same day as the album.

8. “Cardigan” (2020)

Album: “Folklore”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Aaron Dessner
Accolades: It became Swift’s second song to debut at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and her sixth chart-topper overall. It earned her Grammy nominations for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.

7. ‘All Too Well’ [10 Minute Version] (2021)

Album: “Red (Taylor’s Version)”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Liz Rose
Accolades: This expansion of the song she originally recorded in 2012 debuted at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Swift’s eighth chart-topper and the longest number-one song in Billboard history.

6. ‘Back to December’ (2010)

Album: “Speak Now”
Songwriter: Taylor Swift
Accolades: The single won Swift the Teen Choice Award for Choice Break-Up Song.

5. ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ (2012)

Album: “Red”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback
Accolades: The music video won Best Female Video at the VMAs.

4. ‘You Belong with Me’ (2009)

Album: “Fearless”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Liz Rose
Accolades: Swift broke through at the Grammys when this song was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, the same ceremony where “Fearless” won Album of the Year.

3. ‘Shake It Off’ (2014)

Album: “1989”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback
Accolades: The song instantly went to number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Grammy nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.

2. ‘Blank Space’ (2014)

Album: “1989”
Songwriters: Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback
Accolades: Right after “Shake It Off,” Swift earned another no. 1 here, becoming the first woman in history to succeed herself at the top of the charts, and scored Grammy bids for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for the song.

1. ‘Love Story’ (2008)

Album: “Fearless”
Songwriter: Taylor Swift
Accolades: “Love Story” took Best Music Video at the CMT Music Awards and the Country Music Association Awards.

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