With Taylor Swift winning the Artist of the Decade award at the American Music Awards on Nov. 24, it is safe to say that she has graced us with five brilliant albums in the past ten years. From Speak Now in 2010 to Lover in 2019, Swift has absolutely slayed the decade.
With that, here are my top 13 Taylor Swift songs of the decade:
13. Wildest Dreams– This is arguably the best single off 1989 with one of the best bridges. The song pulls you into a daydream as you make your way down the track list of Swift’s 2014 album. The melody never fails to follow you around and get stuck in your head.
12. Getaway Car– This is my go-to song from reputation. The lively key change in the bridge is a melodic masterpiece, while the song’s metaphorical lyrics say “goodbye” to Taylor’s ex in the best way possible.
11. New Year’s Day– This hidden gem blessed reputation with its raw, piano-filled sound and simple yet elegant lyrics. The best part of ‘New Year’s Day’ is that if you listen closely, you could hear the piano pedal in the intro, bridge and outro. Sometimes, it’s the little things that make a song so memorable.
10. Better Than Revenge– This story starts when it was hot and it was summer. One of the only pop-rock songs on Taylor’s discography besides ‘The Story of Us,’ this jam became one of my favorites off Speak Now faster than you can say sabotage.
9. The Man– Taylor Swift screamed women’s rights with this fierce, empowering bop. This feminist anthem makes a statement about the double standards of how she is viewed by the public, specifically how she would be treated differently in the music industry if she was a man.
8. Last Kiss– This is another song that I underappreciated until listening to it again years later. In six minutes and seven seconds, this break-up ballad has me longing for an ex I don’t even miss.
7. Clean– This is one of those songs that ages like fine wine. It never really stuck out to me until one eye-opening moment listening back to it years after 1989’s release. Its tranquil instrumentals are reminiscent of a soothing rainfall, while the imagery is breathtaking. The entire song is beautifully written—both lyrically and musically.
6. Red– The English major in me can’t get enough of the similes and metaphors that bless this song. Not only is this the titular song of its album, but it’s also named after Taylor and I’s favorite color. Loving this song is, in fact, burning red.
5. Death by a Thousand Cuts– Another emotional track off Lover, it makes me want to take the long way home just so that I can keep listening to it on repeat in my car. The exquisite piano and smooth finger-style electric guitar glides through the song and my heart.
4. False God– This passionate song is what Lover is all about. The glorious hi-hat/snare beats, snazzy saxophone melodies, and divine, allusive lyrics triangulate into a passionate, sensual ballad. The hint of jazziness in this song will put you in a lovely, romantic trance.
3. Treacherous– This song has always made me feel some type of way. For me, the bridge of this song is exactly what the beginning stages of falling in love feels like. Only Taylor Swift has the power to pack this feeling into one bridge.
2. Enchanted: This charming song was so good that Taylor named a perfume after one of its lyrics. It’s a magical song that makes you feel wonderstruck, blushing all the way home; especially listening to the powerful lines, “This night is sparkling, don’t you let it go,” and “Please don’t be in love with someone else.”
1. You Need to Calm Down: This bubblegum bop is one that grows on you. I was skeptical about it at first, but when I really listened to it, I realized that it deserves to be recognized as one of her bests because of how empowering the message of the song is: that snakes and stones should never break your bones. Although I believe there are stronger songs in T-Swift’s discography, at the moment, I am really feeling this up-beat single from my new favorite album, Lover. It’s the most quintessential song of 2019, ending the decade on a good, sassy note.
Honorable Mentions- Haunted, All Too Well, Holy Ground, State of Grace, New Romantics, King of My Heart, and Cruel Summer all deserve to be honored as some of Taylor’s best songs of the decade as well. Honestly, there’s not a single song of Taylor’s that I don’t jam to. It’s difficult to choose the best songs out of so many iconic options, especially when this list changes every day depending on my mood.
As a Swiftie since 2009, I’m pumped to see what the 2020s have in store for my girl Taylor Swift. She may very well be the artist of a whole other decade. As Taylor sings in ‘Long Live’: It was the end of a decade, but the start of an age.
