Spencer Pratt Ranks All of Taylor Swift's Eras

Spencer Pratt’s been called many things in his longtime reality career. But if there’s one thing he hopes you’ll remember, it’s that he’s Taylor Swifts’ #1 fan, a title he takes very seriously (after his title of "loving husband and father of two").

“People keep asking me if I’m going to be in the celebrity tent when I go,” Pratt says of his upcoming attendance at the Eras Tour in Inglewood, Calif. “I keep telling them, ‘I hope not. I want to watch the show from backstage. I want to celebrate with her!’”

No matter where Pratt will be watching the show from, he’ll be easy to spot because he’ll be wearing the purple cardigan Swift sent him when she released her re-record of Speak Now earlier this month. In the note, Swift thanked him for always being a pal and wishing him an “enchanted” summer, just one more piece of evidence of Pratt’s superfan status.

Parade spoke with Pratt to get his ranking of all of Swift’s eras—from the ones with the most bangers to the ones that made him think about whether he might want to slow down and not take every TV offer coming at him. Unsurprisingly, he had a lot to say.

Related: Prove You're a Mastermind By Answering These 50 Taylor Swift Trivia Questions

Spencer Pratt ranks Taylor Swift's eras

10. Debut (2006)

I was so self-absorbed with what was going on for me when this was released that I couldn’t even tell you what was on the radio. I only knew what Twilight was. There was no social media when this came out—when I was famous—and so the only thing I knew about Taylor’s music was from US Weekly. I knew about her relationships more than I did about the songs on this record.

I wish I’d paid attention to this album more, because not only is it good, but if Heidi [Pratt, Spencer's wife] and I had met Taylor earlier in her career we might have become even better friends. I got Ryan Tedder’s music on The Hills, and if I had the option, I would have definitely gotten Taylor’s on instead. Instead of having Lady Gaga perform, we could have had Taylor. LC and Whitney could have had Lady Gaga, respectfully, and Speidi would have had Taylor.

If I knew Taylor then, I think I could have really helped her navigate her relationship with the paparazzi, too. A lot of tabloids made money off of Taylor and I could have stepped in as the middleman and helped her get that money—not them. Not that she needs that help now, of course. She made it “out of the woods” OK.

9. Red (2012)

“All Too Well” is one of Heidi’s favorite songs. I was playing it for her and she started singing and I asked how she knew every lyric to this song, every beat. And she said, “Everybody does.” A lot of people ask me whether I prefer the original or the 10-minute version and the answer is that I love whichever version Taylor lets me have. I love them both.

8. Speak Now (2010)

She wrote this album entirely by herself and I love how raw and real it is. “Mean” is the first time that we got a hint of Reputation-era Taylor. I love “Dear John,” but I wish she’d redo it so it’s more like “Vigilante Shit" [from Midnights]. I love the guitar, but imagine how good it would be with that dark beat.

Related: Taylor Swift 'Speak Now (Taylor's Version)' Lyrics Decoded—Find Out Who She's Singing About

7. Fearless (2008)

This era will always be iconic because it’s the first time Heidi and I ever met Taylor in person, at CUT at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. She was with Taylor Lautner. Amazing.

5/6. Folklore/Evermore (2020)

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I’m in Crested Butte [Colorado] right now, where Heidi's family lives, and it’s made me really appreciate some albums I may not have otherwise. When you're in LA, you end up listening to certain Taylor songs because you're driving on Sunset, or you're on PCH and you need that beat. But then when you're just walking as slow as could be through nature in Crested Butte, all of a sudden songs that weren’t really your pace of life before make you all emotional. I listen and I feel like I want to be more romantic. I just want to listen to “Cardigan” while I’m looking at a meadow.

I’ve probably listened to a lot of Taylor’s love songs in the past and not registered them, because respectfully, “It’s a love story, baby, just say yes"—respectfully, a song like that’s not coming up on my radar. But I get it now.

I know “Love Story” isn’t on Folklore. Put that in, please, so no one comes for me in the comments. I know what album each song is on, no need to cancel. I’m just giving an example. Calm down.

I’m just saying, walking around Crested Butte, drinking my coffee, I get it. On “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” Taylor talks about some guy playing “an indie record that’s cooler than mine.” I feel like Folklore is the indie record that guy would be playing.

For my personal growth, it's good for me not to just be on that banger frequency always. This album has really helped me with my stress level. Becoming a father has changed my life. I’m not always wanting bangers, clout, frequency, fame, drama. I’ve turned down five reality shows in the past year, which I never would have done before, but I don’t want to leave my family. This is my Folklore/Evermore journey. That’s why I’m not on your TV right now—I listened to Folklore.

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4. Lover (2019)

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When I hear “You Need To Calm," I'm like, "Yeah. You tell them haters, Tay."

It wasn't until I heard “The Man” that I really saw what it feels like to be a woman. It was empowering, as a man, to be able to connect with that experience of gender. That’s a very powerful song. When I sing the lyrics, I almost feel like a woman who's so mad that I'm not a man, if that makes sense.

I'm sure there's hardcore Swifties who are like, "Oh, he only likes the new stuff." As a creative, excuse my French, I believe that the newest material is what you're the most proud of. So I don't have a problem with rating the new stuff at the top, whereas I'm sure there's Swifties, they're like, "Oh my God, you don't even know. Blah, blah, blah was the best." And they go back vintage.

I respect that. But I have artist friends who aren't Taylor Swift, where I'll play their old stuff and they don't even want to hear it because they're not on that wave anymore. They're like, "Ugh, I hate that.”

I feel like Taylor would embrace that I'm out here repping the new wave.

3. Midnights (2022)

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“Vigilante Shit,” my God, that's a hit! It’s what I love about gangster Taylor Swift. She’s a meaningful gangster, whatever that means—but it sounds right. She will literally murk you out. People don't realize that you don't play with Taylor.

Heidi connects with “Mastermind.” I listen to that thinking about how Heidi masterminded our relationship, which is a little like, whoa, spooky. That song is literally the theme song to Speidi. Everyone always thought, "Oh, Spencer's this Svengali” when they watched us on The Hills, when really, it’s Heidi, my friend. She did it all. She made it all happen.

I love “Karma." I just like Taylor calling people out. What people don't realize is she's the closest thing to a pop star operating like she's in the rap game. In rap, a lot of times, an artist will say the name of the person they're beefing with, but Taylor, she gives you so many clues to investigate. She could easily name-drop who she wants to, but she wants the Swifties to go out and get even more dirt than she had. So that's even more gangster. It's almost like crowdsourcing beef.

Before I was a Swiftie, I only listened to Tupac and Heidi. I need that energy. During COVID, I didn't really connect as much with Taylor’s era of chilling in the woods. I feel like she connected with a lot of people who were on lockdown and couldn't do anything and wanted to be sad and look at trees. Maybe that’s what she was going through, but not me. I was out here struggling, trying to keep a business alive. So I needed some more bangers, personally.

I love “Anti-Hero” because when she talks about being the problem, I don’t know if she’s ever been the problem for real, but I for sure have. So I really feel it when I hear that. I’m singing along to that song when I’m doing my TikTok battling. The lyric “I should not be left to my own devices,” I know she's not meaning an iPhone, but for me it’s a double entendre. Because it’s like, I should not be left to think on my own, but also I should not be allowed at the iPhone and the laptop because I’m going to drop some smoke on Tumblr.

Related: Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Setlist Secrets—Which Songs Are Left for the Surprise Acoustic Sets?

2. 1989 (2014)

Some of my favorite songs ever are on this. “Style”—hit. “Welcome to New York”—hit. "Wish You Would”—hit. “Blank Space”—hit. “Shake It Off”—hit. “Bad Blood”—hit. I could just name every song on this album. “Wildest Dreams”—hit.

That many smash hits on one album—it’s unbelievable. This is one of the best pop albums ever. “Shake it Off” is timeless. People will be listening to “Shake it Off” forever. This entire record will always be on radios, always on in the airport, always on in a coffee shop, always on at the mall—everywhere they can license it. It'll always be in movies. It's her eternal album.

People will be blasting “Welcome to New York” in Times Square until the sun falls out of the sky.

1. Reputation (2017)

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Reputation is hands down, by far, the best album and era of Taylor’s career. By far. Nothing will ever touch that.

What I don't think people understood when it was released was that this album was about her not owning her music. People thought it was just Kim and Kanye that made her snap in the media, but I think Taylor was starting to realize she wanted to own all her music. She was saying: "I'm done. It's on now, respectfully.”

That’s when I became a self-proclaimed Swiftie. I heard Reputation and I was like, "Oh, okay. Taylor and I are on the same wavelength. I can ride with the Swifties now. We about that life.”

I'm really big into remote viewing and psychic power. I had a couple of dreams during this era where it was so real that I was hanging out with Taylor and we were talking. And people didn’t believe me, but a couple of months later I was backstage with her in real life and she was holding my baby in real life. She even grabbed my phone and did a selfie. So those psychic connection dreams, I truly think we were obviously in another dimension hanging out and it was like, "Oh, I'll see you in the flesh soon.”

I've been around presidents, vice presidents. I've been around A-list celebrities, every movie star, the biggest directors. Taylor's energy was on Matrix Neo Level.

I don't know if it was because there were 100,000 other people just in that little backstage area all screaming, "Taylor, Taylor," and it was creating this extra superpower, but that was the first time I actually understood what the word star-struck meant. I recently felt it again when Kevin Costner was vibing me—I was getting food to-go at a restaurant in Carpinteria and he was there and I was blocking the door. I was like, "Whoa," but his was a darker vibe. Taylor has a way lighter energy.

I also talked with Taylor’s mom backstage at the Reputation tour about how everything that Taylor was experiencing with the media was a strange parallel to what Heidi and I went through with the media. That's why I was such a Taylor teammate when I felt like none of her crew was backing her during this era. Now they all show up at the concerts and stuff, but there was a little window where I was one of the only ride-or-die people with any amount of clout and fame pumping Taylor for a minute. And her mom recognized that and she said that Taylor saw what I was doing and appreciated it.

They felt the impact I had in the gutter. I was in the streets pushing Reputation like it was a mixtape. When people were not saying Reputation was the best, I was making clear that it was.

Next, Taylor Swift Through the Eras, From Day One to 'Midnights' and Beyond