1989

Great, better than I remember it being + it could still grow on me a lot (15/07/21)

Oh why can't this be Folklore? Then it'd be a 5. This is still one of Taylor's go to albums, but I'm guessing it'll be bumped for Folklore in the future. It better be on a future list. Or maybe the next list will have room for both folklore and 1989. It should, because damn does Taylor know her some hooks. Actual rating is 4.5.

Feels like a classic album even though it's only 7 years old. Nearly every song feels familiar and catchy - fine ol' pop right 'ere

This album had some jams.

Para mi Taylor es la reina de la fórmula borderline narcissistic gurl, y por eso motivo me seca el alma. El disco para lo que apunta a ser, me parece que está bueno, aunque eso no evita que no me guste. Si me aparece alguna canción random en un playlist seguramente la escuche. Por suerte parece que creció un poco y ahora repite menos palabras en sus letras.

El disco es un hit atrás de otro. Realmente es tremendo el laburo que tiene encima cada tema. Se nota que se pensaron para ser todos hits. Técnicamente tremendo, pero después de un rato te empalaga un toque. Blank Space, Out in the Woods y Wildest Dreams fue lo que mas me gustó.

Es un álbum con temas muy dulces y pegadizos. Es ideal para ir caminando y tener un buen día. Y cantar los temas a los gritos. y obvio shake it off es para mover todo el cucu.

Just pop. Catchy enough.

Ahhh love me some T Swizzle. Blank Space and Wildest Dreams are solid and Shake It Off should make anyone want to dance. The opening bass line on Style gives me the chills. This album is the beginning of her musical metamorphosis and is pretty good, but not yet peak T Swizzle.

An album of music I wouldn't typicaly want to listen to in full, but it is full of great tracks

Regardless of whatever you think of Taylor as a person. This album kinda slaps

Catchy songs

Great, catchy and polished radio pop.

This one caught me off-guard, some great pop tunes and I'm a big fan of those synth sounds. Best track: Style

some great pop songs, a whole album of it is a bit much for me, but 4* for the catchy hooks

Saved Prior: None (?) Off Rip: Welcome To New York, Blank Space, Style, Out Of The Woods, I Wish You Would, How You Get The Girl Cutting Edge: Wildest Dreams Overall Notes: My sisters used to listen to this album all the time, so I know the majority of these songs. Shocked I didn't have any of them saved before this because what a first 4 songs. Such a good pop album, the literal blueprint for at least half of the past 7 years worth of pop albums. Not as big a fan of the slower songs on this album and Bad Blood is a whiff for me, but a great album nonetheless. Glad she got some respect and made the list. 4.

4.0 - slick production, clever lyrics, some bangers. All around a solid pop album. I’d underestimated Taylor Swift. There’s substance here.

A couple of fun tunes. She has a talent for writing catchy melodies, and I like her occasionally staccato vocal delivery. But the production is bland and repetitive, and her lyrics are pretty cringe-inducing.

I am pretty sure that this is the best TS can do. The singles are good pop even though Shake It Off is a rip-off of Hey Ya.

She pisses off the right people, is going to be Jason’s sister in law, but mostly she brings joy to my daughter.

Good

A good, not great, pop album.

I feel like Taylor Swift is an artist either hated or adored. Those who don't like this album are likely to label it "formulaic", "boring" and for "mass-consumption"; those who do like it will appreciate its generally catchy melodies, its nod to the 80s, and the fact it doesn't really have any fillers. I'm a bit in the middle; its simplicity and polished production is the source of its greatest strength and greatest weakness. I don't hate listening to it but I'm not challenged in any great way or encouraged to listen to this regularly.

When I went to pull this album up on Qobuz, I got 1989 (Taylor's Version) instead. I figured one version of TS was as good as another. The album itself is fine. Plenty of hits. The lyrics make me cringe in spots, but it's a decent pop album. Did get me curious, though -- so I pulled up the original version and had a listen to at least a few of the tracks. Chat, the production on the original is *so* much better. Everything on the Taylor's Version sounds flat -- there aren't any of the marks of craftsmanship you see on the original. Anyway, listen to the album as it was meant to be if you want to get the full effect.

Noen kjempehits, noen ordentlig dørgende, noen som føles veldig... disney?

I am a believer? Never thought I would take to Taylor's music but it's charming. She's a talented vocalist, set up perfectly against smart arrangements, great backing band. I wouldn't be in the car I'd be in the audience with my screaming daughters!

Poppy, too poppy

Fair to say that as a fifty-something bloke, I'm probably not really in Taylor Swift's key demographic and if I didn't have two young daughters, she'd probably have passed me by completely. It's easy to be sniffy about what appears on the surface to be just chart-friendly pop music but the Taylor Swift story is pretty inspirational. If the kids are going to look up to a pop star, they can do far worse than looking up to this one. This really is an album brimming with perfectly formed pop toons - it isn't something I would normally listen to myself, but I get it and I'm glad I listened.

This album made me do a self-inflicted challenge: listen to Taylor Swift's entire discography. Had never listened to her before properly, beyond the radio hits. Was interested to see what was going on. Her first few albums were pop country, nothing too interesting although I guess a teenage girl singing about teenage girl stuff in country was somewhat unique at the time. Then came Red: I mean, Swift's pop sensibilities were already well established before this album (Love Story, for example, is hardly country), but apparently this made the press and her fans go a bit wild. Red was fine. Then came this, her full move to pop. Many of the songs I was very familiar with already, due to them being played to death on the radio over the years. A quintessential pop album, not anything special for me. Then came reputation, apparently her attempt to address the fact that her reputation was not very good at this point in time (a certain story that came out that, despite her saying she didn't give Kanye permission for *those* lyrics in Life of Pablo, a video showed she had in fact done so, with full knowledge of context?). Anyway, Reputation did not go hard and fell short of expectations. Then came Lover, barely worth mentioning for me here. The two standouts came from her work with your man from the National and Fun, folklore and evermore. Decent "folk"/singer songwriter albums with some absolute highlights, surely her pinnacle - but would like to see her do better. They'd probably get 3.5 and 4* respectively for me. Then back to the pop - Midnights was forgettable, Tortured Poets was fine, Death of a Showgirl was fine too, not sure why Swifties don't like it. Anyway, I spent way too much time on this challenge but now I feel at least I understand/know this much spoken about artist quite well at this point. Also finally was able to speak to women about Taylor Swift, although I'm not sure that's a great thing for a straight man.

Это было сложно, но я смогла.. Всё слишком одинаковое, но Bad Blood у меня лайкнута, поэтому 3

This is a tough one for me to review * All the songs sound the same (but I don't listen to a lot of synth-pop) * There are moments of clever lyricism * TS is a formidable business person defending herself in a notoriously predatory industry * It's obvious from this why she is so popular * I didn't really like this album 2 + 1 for meeting notability guidelines

I don’t hate it, but it’s not for me. I liked some songs, Blank Space for example, but many I had forgotten by the time the next song started.

I was surprised by Evermore and enjoyed it very much - this brand of pop pablum with its electro synth and drum machine driven dance rhythms is more what I was expecting. Mot at all my jam, but not entirely annoyong either.

Probably the highest variance of any album I’ve ever listened to. An incredible amount of amazing singles … and basically everything else is terrible. Enjoyed the one non-single of I Know Places which was a preview of Reputation. Find it really hard to grade … overall a 3 but do I give more credit to the incredible highs and absolute bangers. Lean more towards a 3 given just how bad most of the songs are (welcome to New York may be her worst song?). But an incredible pivot / achievement that led to much higher highs down the road. 3+

Better than Coldplay

definitely not as bad as i was expecting it to be

Listen have I listed to half of these song a bajillion times against my will. Yes. Did that hamper my enjoyment of the album? Without the aid of alcohol, also yes. I actually did not mind the songs I didn’t know. Unfortunately I am unable to separate my feelings on the matter.

The album was fine and I liked it fine. Taylor Swift's early pop work is likable and his a good turn of phrase. The difficulty I had with this was when it came out. 2014 was supposed to be my time and I feel like I wasted it, and I don't know what to do with or about that. It's heavy and sometimes I feel so numb about it.

My relationship with Taylor is complicated. This album makes me feel like I have been transported into some alternate Sartrian hell where instead of being unable to escape your family you are unable to escape a perpetual Disney film. And if I am stuck in a Disney production, I would rather be there with Cristina Aguilera or Olivia Rodrigo. Even Shake it Off is done better, well, as karaoke if it has some actual bass behind it. This just… um….But then I remember that Taylor, the mover is AMAZING. My god. Who remembers she was a leading COUNTRY star before this? And where she goes from here, maybe not musically, entirely imo, but as an industry mover, well… damn. She’s unstoppable. So how do I rate that? She gets 3 for this project just for being able to do it, to completely change her entire genre mid career for most artists. And she’s just getting started here. Boolean: yes, yeah I suppose it’s important to actually hear it. Now I can say I did, you know by choice and not in pieces at a shopping center.

Not bad, but Taylor Swift isn’t really my thing.

Capisco l’inserimento dell’album in classifica solo perché è stato un successo commerciale, altrimenti no

Of course I’ve heard this before. I have been on the planet at some point in the last 12 years. It’s an impressive feat to make an album where a majority of the songs were hits. I just think the over saturation has dampened my enjoyment for this album. I think the hits here are better, but the deeper cuts are weaker when comparing this to Red. Probably by fourth or fifth favorite album by her. I could go back and forth debating between this and Evermore, but Speak Now, Folklore, and Red are a pretty buttoned up top three. Anyway, this album is good, the songs are well written and produced, the Taylor’s Version is worse than the original, and the “sick beat” promised on Shake It Off is laughable.

The vocal layering on this makes it the sonic equivalent of a mirror maze, but it’s well crafted pop with catchy hooks and suitably inane lyrics.

It was okay. Taylor Swift is a talented songwriter. I just that the album was way too overproduced and that overproduction takes away from the lyrics. Also, Taylor Swift’s voice got annoying after a while. If I could hear a stripped down version of this album like Ryan Adams’ version of this material, that would be great.

Very catchy but not meant for me

First time actually listening to a Taylor Swift album. Not a bad album, a lot of very catchy songs, but the theme gets repetitive quite quick… I don’t have to much to say other than Fuck Trump

I'm sorry, liberals, but Shake It Off is a banger. The rest of the album was kind of boring and felt like it would NQ at Eurovision.

Swift quickly made the transition from country to pop star, it took one album. 89 does a good job capturing the synthpop sound of the eighties, and is a commendable effort from a 25 year old. She can write songs and perform, and she surrounds herself with a capable team. Shake It Off is actually listenable, Bad Blood is just lame. And 10+ years later she just continues to get more popular (and richer.) (3.4*s) Stop it, Taylor!

Here's where Swifty gets going. Even though it sounds cheap and overproduced, 1989 is catchy. Sometimes you can't help but sing and dance to a bad pop track, and Taylor nailed a few hits on this one..."Blank Space," "Shake It Off," "Bad Blood." These songs were huge and everyone was in and for that I will give her credit, especially for writing them herself (not typically the case). She does wrap it up nice with the finisher track "Clean," like washing away the BS. T-Swizz really proved she has staying power as a pop icon after the release of the record and is now the highest paid woman artist of all time. It's a must listen purely for the impact this innocent little country girl gone pop starlet has had. I do prefer a sleezier pop star who really embraces the terribleness though...give me Ke$ha all day. 2.6 stars for the rebirth.

I have to admit that 1989 is chock full of catchy pop tunes. I was aware of Taylor Swift when this released in 2014 and didn't mind when I was hearing various singles through radio play or elsewhere. The tunes are catchy and harmless breakup ballads for the most part which didn't bother me post-college in my late 20's (still don't really). Even nowadays a handful of of these songs hold up and are still worth the occasional listen in the right place. Following 1989 it felt like TS was everywhere all of a sudden but I figured she was just the next up and coming pop star who was able to capture the generation of girls younger than me with a couple hit singles. Little did I know that she was about to take the world by storm and how big the Swifty movement would become over the next handful of years. The Taylor Swift wagon wasn't running nearly as strongly back in 2014 compared to nowadays. On the heels of her rise through country music and transition to this pop-oriented release I can see why she picked up a ton of support in such a small period. 1989 deservedly made a splash which is evident as it is still somewhat engaging more than 10 years later and not just an out of date pop album. Credit where it's due because Taylor Swift is clearly talented, and immensely driven as anyone would have to be to cultivate the fanbase and following she has. Despite the overexposure I've never really been on the Taylor Swift hate-wagon. She's a cultural sensation which certainly gets tiresome (NFL/Kelce exposure certainly hit critical mass) but I'm not hugely affected by it as I'm not really in the core demographic. I suspect the majority of criticism she receives is deserved, as is praise that she simultaneously receives. Such is the nature of being in the center of the spotlight on a global stage. For what it's worth she has a handful of songs that I enjoy from this earlier pop part of her career. Without any other knowledge of her catalog I suspect 1989 is likely the best version of Taylor Swift for my money and admittedly the album is pretty solid. I can't speak to much of her work beyond this album though as I don't really pay attention to her music otherwise. Evermore which was previously on the list and I found it pretty marginal. 1989 was a significantly better listen and I enjoyed it more than I expected to. 3.22 stars

Highlights: Blank Space, Style, Shake It Off, Bad Blood 3.9

# Playlist Track - Shake it off # Notes - Pretty bland, boring pop. - It's well produced, and have a few fun moments here in there, but not recommended for anyone that's over 14 years old.

Now I want to be a hater, but I'd be lying if I said billionaire TaySway was bad. There's obviously something there, the album does belong on this list, but it's the kind of bubblegum pop that only someone from privilege can make. The song progression is kinda samey, which means the album lacks variety in favour of being catchy. There are song songs that kinda suck on here too but not as many as I expected.

mas alla de que no soy muy fan de Taylor swift me gustó bastante el album

Blank Space Shake it Off Bad Blood Wildest Dreams I Know Places

Style Shake It Off Bad Blood Wildest Dreams

No nyt tiedän kuka tämäkin on 😅 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

i have such a hard time with how much her lyrics refer to what she's wearing and what her makeup looks like, but obviously this album is filled with hits. just never going to be for me. 2.5

good

This may be Taylor Swift's goose of the golden eggs. And I'll give her the recognition for making such an album full of hits, with fun and enjoyable songs –well, some of them, at least. But this album doesn't tell me anything. Some (most of the) songs are pretty repetitive, and that repetition makes them overwhelming and boring (I mean... Out of the Woods is a pretty annoying song, just to name one of the many). And it's a very popish and bland album. So, what's good here? Maybe that it's a very mainstream constructed record, paradoxically. The songs are good for what they are made for. They are very radio-friendly and sometimes shaky. So, it's been nice listening to it (I doubt if enjoyable, but nice anyway), and I had previously listened to this record, so it's been good even for a second or third listen (I can't actually remember). The thing is I can't take this album seriously, and sometimes it's a nice thing, but it is so repetitive all the time with Taylor shouting the same thing over and over that it becomes very uninteresting. And there is no soul neither. So, even not taking it seriously, it's not even an album I find appealing. I don't need something deep to enjoy it, but I need some more personality, and this album is so polished pop production perfection that it doesn't sound real or genuine. It lacks of something more personal, another kind of connection with the music. I can't find Taylor (if there is any), I can only find the work of many people in a very perfect construction. Again, the goose of the golden eggs. So many bops but no originality or a more genuine connection with the music.

Gotta admit it, some of these songs are straight up bangers

Sophie - This is an album I am very familiar with. I don’t listen to Taylor Swift much these days but I had my time with her. This album is just fun, maybe every song isn’t a lyrical masterpiece or deeply profound, but who cares? It’s fun to listen to, especially when you haven’t heard it for a while. 3/5

Aside from the terrible shake it off I didn’t hate this. I didn’t pay attention much tk the lyrics but apparently she tends ti write about old boyfriends. Anyway she is surely talented - it shake it off is terrible.

welcome to new york no en bop wnl blank space riese banger, au wenns für mich chli z wenig oomph het sit ichd metalcore-variante ghört han hahaha uuh de refrain isch so böö aber d strophe vo style findi reecht cool! out of the woods hani reecht langeilig gfunde das höche STAY, ich lieebs hahaha ich han easy e gueti ziit shake it off hani churz müsse d auge verdreihe und denn hani gmerkt, dass ich im chopf am mitsinge gsi bin NEIII WAS FÜRE BRIDGE UI weiss nöd, iwie s Prinzip vo bad blood findi cool aber das lied nervt mich eifach wildest dreams sochli d ballade wo na "muss" debii sii aber jooaaa aso sit bad blood ischs album für mich merklich langwiliger worde find aber im rahme vo "pop" isches musikalisch vilsitiger als ichs erwartet het? vlt bin ich da auchli mit asi erwartige anne hahaha natürlich immerno sehr gradlinig leider ok HALLO LANGWILIG ganz ehrlich erst hälfti reecht cool aber de schluss isch 4 mal s gliche lied gsi für mich

The difference in quality between the biggest hits and the deep cuts here is almost impressive. "Blank Space" is a lot of fun, but both "Shake it Off" and "Bad Blood" border on obnoxious, focusing too much on the public's perception of Swift, which is not an interesting topic. Outside of those two songs though this has an argument as some of the freshest pop of the decade. Songs like "Style" and "Wildest Dreams" bubble and flow beautifully, while "Out of the Woods" and the aforementioned "Blank Space" are great upbeat numbers. My main complaint with the deep cuts is that things get a bit too similar after a while; there are times when I think "I Know Places" is going to melt into "Wildest Dreams." With a little trimming this would be an easy 4, but as it is it's too patchy despite some very high highs.

Really enjoyed most of it. Only managed one listen and it started to feel a bit samey towards the end. I'm sure it would be better with more time.

If i was rating this just based off of how much i enjoyed it, this would be a 1. But we’re not doing that here. Unlike the only album i actually gave a 1, heaux tales, Taylor actually has talent so i think its fair to give 1989 a 3 star rating. Best songs are the hits that 99% of us have already heard before listening to the album. But by far my favorite song is wildest dreams. Kendrick is on here so that’s cool.

Unfortunately, I worked at Claire's shortly after this album's release, and unfortunately, I had a great time there. This is all to say, I have a fond place in my heart for half of the tracks on this album, despite my raging dislike for Swift. This album is simple, fun pop - they're practically all earworms and sugary sweet, made up of zero substance. A guilty pleasure at best. It's interesting that I haven't heard a song of Swift's that has captured my attention the same way this album did. I wonder if she started taking herself too seriously after this one. Overall, I don't think this is an album you *must* listen to before you die. And besides, if you're in North America, you probably already have against your will. 3.75 rounded down to 3.

Very poppy. Definitely different than what I expected. I can recognize some of the songs. I can see why this is a girls pop anthem album.

Mostly ok

Couldn't like it, aside from Shake it off. I heard Ryan Adams' version plenty of times when it came out and still do, so while I can enjoy the songwriting, not just anything else

Day 11 1989 by Taylor Swift I’ve never really been a Swiftie. I’ve honestly never understood the hype that much, but I’m trying to stay open minded. I’ve heard a few albums before and never really saw the songwriting genius people talk about. When this came out, I hadn’t really listened to her, but I definitely remember how much “Shake It Off” annoyed me. So going into this, I told myself to give it a fair shot. It actually started off really well. There’s some genuinely solid pop songwriting here, and I found myself enjoying the overall vibe more than I expected. The lyrics can be a bit cringy at times, but at the same time, I’m a 33-year-old man, so maybe I’m not exactly the target audience. The album kind of just passes by without any real low points. There aren’t really any bad songs, it’s consistently good pop from start to finish. But that’s also where it loses me a bit. It feels like it lacks a bit of courage or something more to say. Everything sits in the same lane, and after a while it starts to feel a bit samey and lacking texture. I wouldn’t really reach for this if I’m craving a pop album, but at the same time, I don’t have much to criticize. It’s just… fine. Wine pairing? A clean, easy-drinking rosé or a light Pinot Grigio. Something polished, crowd-pleasing, and not too challenging. Food pairing? A nice family BBQ. Hot dogs, burgers, the whole thing. Vinyl? Don’t want it. Favourite song? “Bad Blood”. Overall 3 out of 5. Looking forward to seeing if I connect more with her slower, folk-style records.

Honestly the whole is greater than the sum of its parts here, but so many of its parts feel too dull for it to matter enough. Couple of standout tracks here, but definitely not one of her best albums. Favorite Songs: “Wildest Dreams”, “How You Get the Girl”, “I Know Places” Least Favorite Song: “Shake it Off” Mid 3.

I don't really get how highly some people rate this album but can't deny it has got some pretty good songs on it

Absolutely hated the first track, but mostly this is a solid pop classic. I'm not sure if Swift is a lyrical genius, but she clearly is gifted in writing songs people love with lyrics they relate to. Lots of songs that remind me of college.

pretty good.

the soundtrack of a simpler time, i'd dance to this forevermore lol.

Got her classic songs I do quite like it as an album but I think some of that is nostalgia. She doesn't deserve the hate she gets. She's a pretty solid artist not overwhelming but......

yeah it's fine. the one star reviews mostly look like fragile dorks who can't let themselves be seen in public even slightly enjoying anything popular.

Maybe its title planted the thought but this album reminded me so much of formulaic pop albums when I was a teen in the 1980s. Debbie Gibson, Tiffany even Janet Jackson or Millie Vanilli. And in this regard 13 year old me would have liked this more than old man me. It’s not terrible. But I don’t love it either. And with no 13 year old in my life it’s doubtful I’d ever come back this way. 3/5

Favorite Track: Wildest Dreams

I liked her other album we listened to more than this one. I felt like this one had a lot of similar sound. She does have some good vocals.

The line "this sick beat" always makes me cringe so hard. At one point I considered this a pretty good pop album. I would've had no objection to it being on a list like this. Unfortunately, like many others, I've become so sick of Taylor Swift that even her better albums like this one are beginning to irritate me. Her recent dogshit albums are making me reevaluate her earlier work. While this album is certainly a lot better than "Life of a Showgirl", at best its just mediocre pop music. It's catchy, it's harmless, it's whatever. I didn't hate listening to this album at all, but also the less I listen to Taylor Swift the better.. Favorite track: Blank Space 2.5/5

I actually didn't mind this! Not anywhere near my wheelhouse, but well put together and stayed interesting, lots of hooks etc. I much prefer the later acoustic-type stuff, but this'll do, and I totally get why it's on the list in terms of impact on culture etc. :)

This wasn’t really my Style. But I will Shake It Off.

I'm too old to be a Swiftie but this was pretty damn strong. Not a bad song on the album.

Good, fun album. She writes such catchy songs and songs that have such emotion.

j’aime pas vraiment sa voix ni ses paroles ni la musique mais y’a une couple de chansons vraiment nostalgiques ♡: Wildest Dreams

I still don’t get Taylor Swift. Sure, the tunes are catchy and poppy, but the extent she has become the voice of a generation? I still don’t feel, hear or see it.

better than i was expecting

Taylor Swift is good at what she does. Well done, it's an impressive album. Still not my thing though and also worry that there'll be more to listen to. This is probably as good as Taylor Swift gets.

I remember this coming out when I was in S1, and while most of the girls were jamming along, all the boys would scream and cover their ears like they were being physically tortured. It isn’t as bad as all that by a long stretch. While it’s decidedly not for me, I just think 2 stars is too harsh for an admittedly solid album with some good singles.

Liked it more than I thought I would. Some real standout songs

3.5/5

A lot of these songs are super fun and catchy. I think the “taylor is an excellent songwriter/lyricist/poet” crowd should be thrilled with that

Poppy. Knew more songs then I thought I would

Don't want Swifties to kick my ass.

Þau 2-3 lög sem ég þekki eru skemmtileg en restin situr ekki eftir

She’s kind of underrated..

A large part of me truly thinks that it has never been harder for me to care about Taylor Swift than it is right now. Her classic hits have been inescapable for years. Her recent hits are (largely) not that good. The Eras Tour was on the tip of everyone's tongue for a while. But she's also had some really obnoxious recent antics(like her insane private jet habits and the cheat code she found to win all charts forever by completely ruining the vinyl record market). And the bow on it all is her relatively recent relationship with popular American Football player Travis Kelce. This changed the paradigm. Previously, Taylor Swift was unavoidable in spaces devoted to music, and some real world environments. But the Travis Kelce developments have placed her at the center of USA sports culture. Which compounds with her musical presence, meaning that there are parts of The U.S. in which she has become *truly* omnipresent. Things have quieted down a little within the last year. But, there were periods in the prior 2 or 3 years in which I would learn things about Taylor Swift *Every* *Single* *Day* for weeks on end. This all has exhausted most, if not all of the time, energy, and good-will I had set aside for one Miss (soon to be Mrs.) Swift. Going Back To 1989 and listening to it as the singular thing that it is, and not as a small (but vital) facet of Taylor Swift (who is really more of a culture than a person at this point) is truly difficult. *Despite* the fact that I *intimately* know nearly half of this album. Which happened because this came out during a particular, formative period of my life, during which I would hear these songs in grocery stores, on TV, and on the radio in nearly any car I happened to be in. Of the 13 songs here (on the original release of 1989), I recall that Blank Space, Style, Shake It Off, Bad Blood, and Wildest Dreams were completely inescapable. And frankly, there could have been more I forgot. In fact, this was such a hit machine, that I really think it may have laid the blueprint for a good 3-4 years of pop music. Listening to this now, I'm surprised that I found most of these songs to still be very listenable. Some of them are certainly overplayed. But, the incredible amount of polish here, coupled with some of the most imminent pop songs ever means that listening through this *is* enjoyable. This is a great album, insofar as an album can be a collection of good songs. My personal favorites are Wildest Dreams, Style, and Out Of The Woods. Style is built around a cool guitar part and a huge chorus. Wildest Dreams has the best atmosphere on the album, it feels pillow-y and the approximate color of orange creamsicle, which works for me. And Out Of The Woods has a really odd cadence that feels completely singular, almost stilted, and that kind of feeling put on an ultra-pop song is unique. On the other end, Shake It Off and Bad Blood are at least a little annoying. But most of this album has good melodies on tight pop songs, and it largely works. While I don't really care about the phenomenon that Taylor Swift is, I kind of do see how this album was so successful, and why it is beloved to so many.

Not ever been a Tay Tay fan. I’m not her demographic, but listened to this album and knew a few songs and enjoyed a few hooks. Enjoyed her singing, the production is very flat and boring, the songs get repetitive and the boy meets girl thing gets a bit tired. Couple of hits you’ve heard on the radio

I actually enjoyed this album, that was not expected.

I've already heard the singles many, many times against my own will. I find "Shake It Off" very annoying. The other tracks on "1989" are a breath of fresh air. Those songs sound similar to each other, a common occurrence on modern pop albums. However, I'm glad that they're actually good. 3 stars for "1989".

Well crafted, catchy synth pop. Not something I would personally listen to again but I can see why it's so popular.

Was thinking this might break my 3/5 streak, but don't think it will. There's some really good hits on this one, like Blank Space and Style (Especially Style). Clean is a great closer. Then there are some bad singles like Bad Blood and Shake It Off (While inexplicably being guilty pleasures of mine). And then some stuff that is fine, but I could take or leave (Welcome to New York, I Wish You Would). Overall, fine album, but not really blowing my mind. She's got better stuff like folklore and evermore.

Stockholm syndrome or decent album?

Has some decent pop music, it's not my thing, also I don't see why TS is revered above any other pop artist it's all the same shit.

Review - classic modern pop Rating - 7/10 Need to listen? YES

Please observe my pin that reads "I REALLY WISH I WAS LISTENING TO CARLY RAE JEPSEN RIGHT NOW!" 6/10.

Pom-pom pop in the style of eighties MTV aurally. Some catchy tracks and heavy synth production make for a retro feel. You can see why Swift's vocal performance is well liked on an album I've not heard before and probably never will again.

I would give this a 3.5 just for the classics it has one it.

Not my thing but the album is a good album - for a modern pop album it’s one of the best modern album but like out of all the albums am I going to re listen to this again ? Probably not

Honestly the first time I’ve listened to an entire Taylor Swift album from start to finish. She strikes me as a shallow vacuous children who thinks her fame and wealth gives her wisdom and insight, and for those reasons never thought her music would be worth my time. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there’s anything great going on here musically or lyrically, but it is all snappy, upbeat, and generally happy. It doesn’t leave you angry, and for damn sure isn’t another album laced with excessive profanity and misogyny, so maybe it’s not all bad.

You know when you ask AI to create an image and it isn’t quite what you wanted so you ask it to try again? This whole album is like that. All slightly different, soulless, sparkling, boring pop. It’s the unseasoned white rice and baked chicken dinner of music. It’s the plain cheese pizza, because pepperoni is too spicy, picky eater favorite. For those that love this album, vanilla is their favorite ice cream. Twilight their favorite movie. There is pop music out there that takes risks. There’s pop music out there that is deeper emotionally than this shallow puddle. I’m convinced that if Taylor Swift wasn’t pretty or white, she wouldn’t be the huge success that she is.

Okay, but I think she's released better albums.

Ugggh, this album didn’t suck

This is only the 3rd bwat version of this album

I've had my fill of Swift. Sorry.

Correcto

“Band-Aids don’t fix bullet holes”

Hmm. On the one hand, this has all the trappings of manufactured hit making, from the over-the-top production to the team-based songwriting. On the other hand, holy shit the instant ear-worminess of these pop confections make this one of the easiest first listen albums I've ever heard (and if you don't agree, you're cynical enough to be dead inside). That's generally a sign that one would tire of this album quickly - but as I'm unlikely to give this album a whole bunch of spins (sugary sweet over-produced mainstream pop just isn't my thing), I won't really ever know.

- ok, so believe it or not, a tough one to rate: knee-jerk reaction is to just dismiss because it's real just pop chart music ... I don't think that's a fair approach. It IS pop chart music but some of the writing is a bit deeper than you would expect from this genre.The production is sometimes interesting, sometimes boring/cliched, sometimes annoyingly glossy as expected. this album suffers from the sheer number of tracks; there may be a very good pop record buried under the volume of material released if this was put out in the age of vinyl. That being said, this is the record we have to grapple with. I can't entirely dismiss but it's not as great as some would like to think so, I land right around a 3 ...... -

segun yo no me gusta taylor swfit y me supe casi todas las canciones de este álbum lol

eu peguei um ranço pela loirinha nos últimos anos, que foi difícil engolir essa sugestão. eu nunca gostei da música dela, mas não tinha nada contra, só não era minha praia - até o show no brasil, superexposição midiática no pós-pandemia, relacionamento com o escroto lá dos 1975... enfim. no entanto, esse álbum realmente é BOM - não excelente, mas realmente é um álbum digno de nota. para mim, me parece o ápice criativo dela. a fórmula desses arranjos minimalistas e assépticos ainda não tinha esgotado e tem até um certo frescor que se sobressai mesmo após uma década dela repeti-la a exaustão. sei lá, odeio odeio odeio essas drum machines secas, repetitivas, sem nenhum swing e com a voz 10 passos a frente na mixagem, tudo achatado. mesmo assim, dá pra ver que existe um grande talento de composição ali. acho que ela teria sido incrível como uma cantautora dos anos 1990.

*sighs*. Ok. Fine. I’ll just go ahead and say it. This album wasn’t terrible. For some unnecessary context, the year is 2026 and Taylor Swift is everywhere. She is so unavoidable that you’d have to specifically attempt to go out of your way to avoid hearing about her, and you’d still likely fail. Are you a football fan?? There she is at a Chiefs game. Enjoy supporting your local record store?? She’s front and center in every store. Watch the news at all?? She’s likely going to be making headlines again for something inane. The only thing I find appealing about Taylor Swift are the plane memes about just how often she gets in a plane, and how funny they are. Madness, all of it. I can’t think of someone who’s gotten this much attention for this long. I can’t in good faith say it’s unwarranted, but it really is insufferable at times. She is so unavoidable that despite spitefully never actively seeking her out, I’d still heard of 3 of these songs previously. The overexposure of Taylor and her rabidly dedicated Swiftie fan base is truly something to be studied for the history books. This might be worse than the Justin Bieber days of old. I rolled her album evermore previously, making this the second of 2 Taylor Swift albums I’ll have to endure for this project. It’s an artist I know I dislike, so better just knock it out of the way early, right?? I was going to have to listen to this eventually anyway. While evermore didn’t have a single song that reached out to me, and I still question its inclusion in the book at all, it physically pains me to say that this album is actually pretty good. It’s got a lot of the hits that I recognized, including “Blank Space”, “Bad Blood”, and my personal favorite (I can’t believe I’m saying that) song on the album, “Shake It Off”. Does it have filler?? Absolutely, and every song is overproduced, has annoying auto tune/distortion/etc filters, is ungodly repetitive and tailor made (See what I did there) for people with an attention span that lasts for all of about 5 seconds. But you know what?? I didn’t really hate any of it. It’s catchy, and that’s all that matters. While evermore was moody, edgy, whiny and insufferable, this one is at least full of energy and good vibes. So, you know what?? I’m not going to give this one a 1 out of spite. I’m going to give it a 3 and tell you that for all its flaws, I rather enjoyed it as a whole. Damn you, Taylor Swift. Damn you. Was I dramatic enough, because I was really trying to have fun with this one and go on a random goofy tangent. I’m not actually that upset, it’s just fun to be so unserious occasionally, and this felt like a good opportunity to do just that.

This wasn’t as good as that other Taylor swift album w got. It had some of her old hits but they felt waaaaay to played out by now and I just didn’t get it.

Most of these songs are pretty good, and some of them are very good. It's a shame I'll never be able to listen to this album as a whole again because I just can't stand all the compression and auto tune of modern pop. To me it makes everyone sound like a tinny robot. Not Taylor's fault but there it is.

Meh, was okay

внимательно послушала обе версии, очень много на одной ноте плоским голосом, не люблю такое ( зато нашла что писал Макс Мартин и сразу начала кивать

Taylor Swift is a machine and an industry. It’s hard to separate the person and the artist from that. Ultimately, this is Swedish super-producer pop. It's fine, but I couldn't find anything distinctive about it, and people wouldn’t be so in love with it if someone else’s name was on the album cover. 3⭐️

Ken ik al dus ga ik niet opnieuw luisteren Het is zeker wel een vibe maar ik heb de liedjes ook wel echt te vaak gehoord Ik denk dat ik het wel een 7/10 geef en misschien dus 3 of 4 sterren

Yesterday morning I wrote a long ass bullshit post about how I hate T Swift as a person (I do; I make no apologies nor concessions about this) but how this album is genuinely good and probably also represents her peak as an artist. I deleted it because it was annoying and pretentious and not worth reading lmao T Swift’s music is not for me, and neither is she. I wish I could separate my dislike for her from her music, but I really struggle to do that. But I recognize that this is a *good* album and hopefully this score sort of reconciles my personal distaste with my recognition of her artistry as being better in 1989 than it ever will be again

Caseous

I am not a Taylor Swift fan at all, I’m more in the category of those who dislike her. With that being said, the album is fine. There are big tracks that I’ve heard on the radio before today. I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to this album again but it wasn’t the worst experience in the world

Not being a Taylor Swift fan, this album surprised me with its lack of uniqueness. It is very good pop music, but it is hard to understand the fascination with Swift based on this album. I am guessing it is the same way someone who has little exposure to David Bowie feels when they get Young Americans as their first exposure to his work on the list. You know he should be there, but you're not sold by the particular work.

Beaucoup de classiques de la pop américaine là dedans, pas de chansons que je réécoute par moi-même cependant

I don’t really like this music anymore. But I had fun with the album when it came out and some songs still bop when listened to after a long hiatus.

My daughter gives this five stars

Fair album, however I feel like there are many better albums by Taylor Swift that didn't make this list. But it's a middle of the road poppy album, but very well executed. Not the biggest fan of her music, but it always is enjoyable. 3/5

If I wasn't vehemently opposed to being perceived as a Swiftie, my rating might have been higher. Tay has lost her gift for lyricism.

My nieces are going to hate I'm only giving this three stars. Top tracks: "Blank Space," "Style," "Shake it Off"

For karaoke music, it's not bad. I can see why 10 year old girls like it.

Blank space is as much of a bop as bad blood isn't, perfect symmetry. It all averages out

Not a Swiftie. Surprised by how many of these songs I actually knew already. I think Taylor is one of those artists whose music is so omnipresent that you probably know it even if you don't think you do. Enjoyed this more than I probably should have. At the end of the day it is a fun pop album.

Certified pop full of some classics but nothing stands out as truly great to me

Taylor isn't my thing. The album is fine.

24/1089 2.7179* I put myself into a 14-year-old girl's shoes before listening to this album. She was a size 6, so the shoes cut off circulation to my toes almost immediately, but I thought it would help me appreciate this album from that perspective. It didn't. After two listens I can truthfully say, "it was fine". Hits...shake it off, AYHTDWS, bad blood

Tengo muy claro que “haters gonna hate” por lo que voy a decir, pero me importa un nardo. El pop de esta chica me resulta de lo más insulso y predecible que ha alumbrado el siglo XXI. Su música se escucha tan agradablemente que en lo profundo se queda en la nada más intrascendente. El pop no era esto. Donde esté Stevie Nicks que se quite todo lo demás.

Frothy, in the best possible sense. And so many strong songs. Weirdly, though, I probably connect best to a song that wasn’t even a single (“Welcome to New York”). 3.5?

Go Chiefs!

Now this album has some songs I recognized, but honestly it all sounded like pretty generic pop music to me, to the point where I didn't realize they were Taylor Swift songs. Still pretty indifferent to most of it, though. The only song I didn't like at all was the first song, "Welcome to New York." I caught myself thinking, "ok this song can't be real," lol. It sounds like something you would hear in a Disney channel show. Otherwise, the album was just fine, didn't hate it, didn't love it. I will agree however that "Shake It Off" is a certified BANGER, and I'm happy to listen to that one anytime.

I can see why girls/women of a certain age are into her. Not really my thing but a solid pop effort all the same! I even recognised a few of the songs.

Actually decent, even if it's unlikely that I give this another spin.

Enjoyed some songs more than others. Album flowed well. Would not say I loved it but will revisit a few songs in the future.

OK, I tried. But for someone like me who grew up with Pop music of the 80s, this, while not bad, is a tad too sterile and predictable. 2.5/5

first time listening to this whole album and outside of the singles i don't know how i feel about things...i think this album needed to get to me in a gay club before my skull hardened for me to fully get it

I find it interesting that I can only find "Taylor's version" of the album on both YouTube and Spotify. Her voice has definitely improved and I'm glad she has her music rights again, but part of me wished I could hear the raw original, even if it is potentially "worse"-- especially as her voice isn't my favorite. Also interesting to think about artists being so influential they can erase their old music and replace it with another version. Anyway, thoughts as I listened to each track: 1. Welcome to New York: good beat, repetitive. Reminds me of her being NY ambassador or whatever despite not having grown up there. I think I spaced out for part of it. 2. Blank Space: kept the "Starbucks lovers" A++. Also I swore this song came out when I was in high school, but nope. 2014. Makes me feel nostalgia despite the unhinged lyrics. The bridge is my favorite part, I like the vibrato-y, rasp ("boys only want love if it's torture") 3. Style: the guitar riff to start this is a banger. Her voice still grates a bit for me. The chorus is one of the catchiest most memorable parts for me-- especially since it's all a reference to Harry Styles. I did start getting bored at the end? Maybe because I've heard this song a lot though. 4. Out of the Woods: I don't think I've heard this song before? Or I forgot it because it's weird af. It's got some big drum/80s vibes? Oh wait, I'm listening and I know the chorus. It sounds like it's meant to be on a Disney movie like Tarzan or something. Taylor Swift meets Genesis. The music video is insane. Is it about relationships? Global warming? Mother Earth? Why not all? 5. All You Had to Do Was Stay: I vaguely know this song. The high pitched "stay" throughout took me out at times. The tone feels one-note throughout and repetitive (probably because of the constant STAY). These lyrics and beat are also the most generic of all the songs so far. 6. Shake It Off: I remember how iconic this music video (still makes me smile) was and it's one of Swift's best "clap back" kind of songs. The horn beat throughout is really fun and helps with the playful vibe the tone/lyrics give. Her voice is definitely not my favorite on this track, but the song is fun so it's easier to disregard. 7. I Wish You Would: I don't know this song and I don't know if Taylor's version is different, but it felt like I listened to it at 2x speed or something. The "driving past and memories/regret hits" vibe just makes me think of Olivia Rodrigo's song "Driver's License" and how it does a better job of capturing the vibe than this buzzy energy drink whatever this song is doing. Not surprised it didn't become as popular as the other tracks. By the end I was thinking "I Wish This Song Would End". 8. Bad Blood: I don't think I liked this song when it first came out because the chorus was annoying to me. It became an earworm though and it's grown on me over the years-- probably nostalgia goggles & Chris brainwashing. ALSO WTF KENDRICK? NVM I don't remember this song at all apparently. Has Kendrick always been featured on this??? Did it always have trap/dub clapping?? I remember less of this song that I thought lol The music video also makes me realize why people think Taylor is bi. I wonder if her and Katy Perry had a thing? Also Zendaya and Selena Gomez in the MV. Wild. 9. Wildest Dreams: she sounds like Selena Gomez in the opening. I think this song could have been on either Folklore/Evermore and fit in pretty well. Her voice is my favorite on this track compared to others, though the beat/melody is the most simple and the lyrics are just ... Fine. I love the pre-/chorus a lot though. One of my favorite tracks. 10. How You Get the Girl: the beat and lyrics are extremely generic and everything about it annoys me. I honestly think AI could make this will little prompting. Did not like it, it's the only track I couldn't listen to all the way and had to skip. 11. This Love: I like the ethereal instrumental opening. I think she's maybe doing a slight Florence and the Machine tone, but her voice isn't as husky/impactful. It's a little forgettable, but I don't mind the track overall. Just sad girl vibes. 12. I Know Places: I like the piano and vibe of her voice in the beginning of this song-- especially the vocal backtrack (the repeated "I" is fun) and some of her emotional rasp at words like "run"-- but I lose a bit at the chorus when it becomes more generic/falsetto again. I think she developed songs with this vibe that are way more refined later. I actually think this is an underrated track overall though. It's pretty fun and the lyrics aren't bad. 13. Clean: weird track to end on, but Swift loves her dark ass narrative storytelling songs and hitting you over the head with a metaphor (rain? CLEAN?? FRESH START???). Sounded like some more of her other tracks, especially the more sing-talk verse + wispy chorus with a synthesized drumbeat in the back. Not the worst, but definitely forgettable to me. Okay I didn't not realize how many iconic tracks came out on this album. No wonder it's regarded as one of her best (however I do think if it just ended at Wildest Dreams it would have been better). I'm still not a big Swiftie, so I don't think I would ever choose to listen to this album fully, but she does make some catchy tunes so I wouldn't mind listening to some of the better ones every now and then. I think Wildest Dreams, Blank Space, Shake it Off, and Style are the top for me, but again, don't think I'd even listen to them back to back.

20 something me would have made fun of this, but if I’m being honest it’s not bad. Still not something I gravitate towards but I did find myself bopping my head and even singing along a little. I won’t go far enough to call myself a swiftie, but I’m going to give this 3+ stars.

I didn't really expect to like any of it, but didn't come away hating it and there were some pretty poppy songs throughout....

Go pop music

Back when I was 72 years old.

I know I will get backlash but I dont think this aged well. Taylor skyrocketed to fame when she released 1989, the album plays with the 80's influence but also is a good representation of a very synth fake pop that was all over the early 2010's (and I am not a fan- Rihanna, Katy Perry kinda oversaturated the sound). Taylor knew reallybwell how to choose the singles "Shake It Off", "Style" and even "Blank Space" are great songs and work well, but songs like "Bad Blood " I wish you would" " All You Had to Do Is Stay" - they are so overproduced and even the lyrics, Taylor strongest characteristic, get lost in the complaining. Also, you can tell so much from this fling she had with Harry Styles from the lyrics, she was 25 at the time, but she sounds like a teenager in some of the songs. I love Max Martin as well, but yeah, early 10s he marstered this full on weird synth pop. And ironically, this reminded me brat by charli xcx. Ironies of life. 3/5 It would be 5 out of 5 if only the singles were there.

Not as bad as expected but lyrically this is a lot poorer than you would expect given her rabid fandom. Sort of baffling the appeal in some respects 3*

Pleasant. I wish you would is a banger. But apart from this and Welcome to New York this did not invoke much for me. It was not painful to listen to unlike worse records but it was not that enjoyable either.

This was a Covid-early middle school staple in our house and car, heard this album so many times I can’t even count— but haven’t re-listened in a long time. It’s very catchy, no doubt, and far more entertaining than what she’s making now. But unlikely I’d ever reach for this unless prompted by the kid. And the kid is a bit over her at this point.

I’m not saying it’s bad, I’m just saying I feel broken after listening to it.

Maybe the greatest argument yet for a better ratings system. This is better than a 3, but I just can't in good conscience give it a 4. Which is weird, because if it was a 0-10 point scale I'd probably give it a 7. With decimals it would be a 7.2. And I know that rounds up to 4 out of 5. But I just can't do it! Aaaarrrggghh!!!!!!!

I get the early hype for country-pop Taylor Swift, but this is the era where she transitioned to generic, mass produced female pop.

I knew the words to more of these songs than I'm comfortable admitting. It's crazy how pervasive this was at the time.

I got Evermore a month ago and really liked it – it's actually gone up in my estimation since. This is much more poppy, although there are similarities in places of course. But I find the poppieness a little less attractive and the lo-fi nature of Evermore more preferable. Maybe part of tha comes with a little more maturity from Swift, or maybe the circumstances of recording and releasing an album in 2020. Anyway, this is OK. I knew some of the songs and I guess they're pretty catchy. But I grew up in the 80s and this isn't the sort of pop that's endured from then really, not for me anyway. This isn't quite at Stock, Aitken, and Waterman levels of production, but it's getting there. And that's not really a place I'd want to be. I might listen again, but this didn't really catch me.

I’ve never been a fan but it wasn’t all bad tbh. A little repetitive but I didn’t not enjoy it.

"Shake It Off" and "Blank Space" remain good singles. The rest of this album runs together to me.

(Moving out of earshot of the swifities) I’m not really into Taylor’s brand of pop music but (back into earshot) this is (back out) decently (back in) good

Surprisingly good until Bad Blood is done. Then the songs start to lack any real substance or trace of quality.

High highs that are dragged down to hell whenever a song like Bad Blood or Shake it Off comes on. Style, Into the Woods, songs that felt like they offered a story or an aesthetic rather than just being a White Woman Rules song were delightful.

Good album

oh sadness, oh tragedy for my morning but I can set aside my feelings and rate fairly 3/5

Even the hits from this album ("Blank Space", "Shake If Off") don't convince me at all. In total much too blend and same same for my taste. Really can't see a reason for the hype about her. 2,5

Pretty fun to sing along to many of these: TSwift knows her way around a hook, and exploits that persona in her lyrics like a champ. Fun

I mean, OBVIOUSLY this has to be here on the list. It's be weird if the most commercially successful artist of the millennium (probably) wasn't. You can't really go into an artist like T-Swizzle with fresh ears. I'm pretty agnostic on Swift and didn't really come in with much bias except that I expected to be mildly amused, and wasn't surprised (especially considering most of the songs were already familiar enough). I'm not the target audience though, so I'm not exactly shocked either. Swift's first proper foray into pop is an overall pastiche of/love-letter to 80s romantic pop, but it feels like it misses its ironic depth of substance. On the plus side, it's a sound so clearly stapled to the mid-2010s and that fading sense of pop-optimism (poptimism?) that the era represents that it feels nostalgic looking back. You can see why she sold a gazillion albums - it's clean, listenable, inoffensive and ultimately easy radio music that's fun and familiar. 'Style' in particular was pretty great. it's great that Swift writes her own music and there's plenty of good hooks here. But it's not very *interesting*. Maybe it's an unfortunate time to be exploring this era in the back catalogue - too soon, perhaps, when the trends of a decade ago are always considered dorky. To badly paraphrase Guy Browning: "Your old coats and sneakers will come back into fashion only just after you've thrown them away". But 1989 also suffers the double-whammy of being so over-replicated since its release as well to the point that the sound lacks its verve to a modern listener. I once heard somebody say "Taylor Swift is life-defining music to the kind of people who don't listen to much music", and while I think it's a little harsh I can't imagine this one sticking out in this list at all. Then again, maybe elevating uniqueness on a pedestal is against the whole point of why we're here. The songs are a little catchy but I never found myself tapping my toes. Is it uninspired? is it cheesy? Maybe. But it's nice. And it certainly sells. I've tried, earnestly, with Swift over the last few years and I still don't get it. I *can't* hear what the hordes of fanatics are hearing and I'm not sure what I'm missing. The most clear 3/5 there could be. And just not for me, clearly. fav tracks: Style, All You Had to Do Was Stay, Wildest Dreams

Best Taylor Swift album. If I could give an additional half star, I would.

6/10 I ain't got no beef with Taylor. This is a pretty solid record. It isn't my normal fair but I ain't mad at it. 10-14-2025

This album makes more sense in historical context. The shift in sound from previous work is notable and it's got some great pop hooks and cool synthy production, but sounds a little bit flat or surface-level on its own.

ive heard most of these songs sooo many times growing up, the album is nostalgic for sure. it also 100% changed pop music... however its just fine, and bad blood might be one of taylors worst written songs, but its a decent-ok pop album that gets an extra star for nostalgia

Not my favorite era

As someone who never cared much at the time for her stylistic controversies that are well-documented by Wikipedia, I think the synth-pop sound and production shines and sounds almost out of time. When she gets rolling, she makes the bouncy pop, catchy songwriting, and revealing singing all sound so *easy* — like watching a basketball star glide down the court for a dunk. However, for my taste, there’s a lot of repetition (“Out of the Woods” x 100) and she tends to hit me with an anti-frisson, moments of discord that detach me from the music (the bridge in “Shake It Off”, every “stay” in “All You Had to Do Was Stay”; there’s something in nearly song, honestly). Peaks: Blank Space, Shake It Off, the non-chorus of Style, Clean Pits: Bad Blood, Welcome to New York, This Love

Not my cup of tea but had a few bangers still. Better than I thought it would be

6.8/10

Look, I'm not an idiot, I understand that this is quite perfectly made, fun and flashy, and efficiently infused with 80s nostalgia pop music. I can hear even *hear* that, not merely *understand* in an abstract sense. There are good reasons for Swift being the monumental pop titan she has become. Is this an AYMHBYD? Of course it is. That doesn't change how much it's not for me. Reference? I'm currently doing one of those Social Media "challenges" of 10 Days of [favourite songs/artists] and this one happens to be Songs From Women/Women Fronted Bands From the Past 10 Years and so far I'm having Warpaint, tricot, Emma Ruth Rundle, Petrol Girls and Hello Mary. The remaining five will likely include Ithaca, Oathbreaker and Water From Your Eyes - this is not for me. Or, thinking of it, it very well could be - after all I've had fun with similarly styled cuts from Miley Cyrus' "Plastic Hearts" for instance - but I'm just utterly unmoved by Swift's white girl sorority cheerleader voice and I actively dislike many of the beats on here, as they don't really seem to be so much 80s inspired but rather curtsy to the then fashionable seeping of trap elements into contemporary dance music. And that seems to be a theme: it's all very calculated and strategised on a whiteboard kind of music. Meh.

This is probably my favourite Taylor Swift record. There are some fun tracks here, but also some tracks that are less so. Favourite Track(s): Blank Space, Bad Blood, Shake It Off, Wildest Dreams Least Favourite Track(s): I Wish You Would, This Love, Clean

I guess the 1001 albums to hear before I die gods knew of Taylor's newest album coming out at the end of this week as they assigned me her 2014 album 1989 to hear today. This album was always one of my favorite Taylor Swift projects to hear as I remember it coming out and my mother/sister being obsessed with it. Again this is an album where I am very clearly not the target demographic, but even I didn't mind this squeaky clean and extremely polished Synthpop album. I can't lie I was raised on the 2000s and 2010s radio so I do have a bit of a soft spot for some of the cheesier releases from around those times, and 1989 is one of them. Don't get me wrong I don't love this project, and I totally understand for some I definitely will rate this higher than expected but like can we at least try to have some fun and enjoy this for what it is worth? As I mentioned before this is a very squeaky clean sounding project and I very much know this is kind of what Taylor's sound is, but here it is done in a way that is not very annoying and is pretty tame all things considered. She has a tendency to over do it or to not bring enough substance to the table but I think this album works in finding a good balance to have everything at. It is a very plain album and, in my humble opinion, does not deserve to be anywhere near a list you need to hear before you die. 1989 is serviceable, and that seems to be the bar Taylor likes to shoot for when it comes to her music.

clean is a very pretty song

Excellent. A few middling, but still authentic and catchy.

Some really good songs on this On this. Never been a fan. Maybe it’s time

The singles are really fantastic, but the B-sides leave a lot to be desired ★★★½

It was okay, couple of decent songs.

There’s a reason she’s as big of a star as she is, but the style gets a bit repetitive for me over the course of a full album.

What can I say she has talent. Not an album in my rotation but gotta give her props. Prefer some of her news tracks. She’s the queen of pop

Ok, got it.

A fun pop album.

not a big taylor swift fan, but still really good

Fun pop music, decent writing, a surprising number of hits for an album. While she is not a virtuostic writer, singer, or dancer, she knows how to put on a great show and she knows how to market herself.

This music was not meant for a happily married man with kids over the age of 30 - definitely has a suburban white girl teenager sort of appeal. That being said the hits do hit pretty well (especially Blank Space) - many of the others are pretty mid, and her voice comes off as plain. The electronic elements throughout elevate the project a bit. 2.7/5 - > 3/5

jajsjsuajshusjsjkdj

É bom, mas é ruim É ruim, mas é bom

I have never been able to take to Taylor Swift, but I remember enjoying songs off this album when it came out. It has been a while since I've listened to them. Unfortunately I reeeeeeally (sorry Taylor), don't enjoy her singing voice at all snd find it annoying. I also find it hard to put aside my feelings about her when listening. I'll start with the low points on the album for me: don't enjoy Blank Space, I find the lyrics really corny, and the same goes for Wonderland. Shake it off really drives me crazy, but think that's more to do with it being so overplayed. I think Clean is poorly performed. That said, I the tracks I enjoyed then, I think still hold up now: Style (really like the chorus - very catchy), the bridge on Out of the Woods is decent as well. I think she sings well on Wildest Dreams, and again, it has a great bridge. My favourite track on the album is New Romantics. I think her vocal performance here is best, and it's a real feel-good pop anthem! Not bad.

Most of the songs on here are plagued by this generic fake-sounding production of the 2010s, but it’s still better than a lot of what was being played on the radio at the time. Most of the lyrics weren’t anything special and awkwardly executed. Though, I liked the backing vocal harmonies on some of the songs. I think I found the second half more enjoyable than the first, though the first half was more recognizable with a bunch of hits of its time. Alright album.

If I'm being really real, I prefer the Ryan Adams full-album cover of this album.

For you get me

It's fine

Fine album. Nothing really stuck out to me, but I found nothing truly dislikable about any of the songs.

Klingt nach unschuldigem gute Laune Pop.

Not living in a cave in the Outer Hebrides I have heard of Taylor Swift, but wouldn’t normally listen to this overly produced type of pop music. I do like “we are never ever getting back together” and her tracks are catchy but I know I am never ever going to buy an album. It includes just one song I know “Shake it Off” as it is in the film Sing and even though the piggies do a great job of dancing their hearts off to this one, it is my least favourite song in the film. Bottom line, its meant to be autobiographical, which normally means deep, but I thought this album was quite vapid. 3 STARS as I thought it was okay to listen to, but that’s it.

Fine album solid 3

I am not a fan of Taylor Swift. I do not like thinking or hearing about her or her music. And I feel like I have to explain this every time I say something like that: it's not because I dislike her as a person, or as an artist, or even as a celebrity. Sure, I'll razz her for how much she just loves to use her private plane, but it's not like I have much reason to make a big deal out of it. I would've had one when I was younger, however. When I was younger, I very, very much disliked Taylor Swift. It's possible I even hated her, though I think even then I would've thought "hate" was a strong word. Back in 2014 or whenever, I had the same problems with her that everyone else did: she dated a lot of men and wrote songs about 'em. Somehow, I'd bought into the line that it was somehow a bad thing that she wrote about her relationships — as if musicians haven't been doing exactly that sort of thing for years. It was obviously just a lot of celebrity tabloid nonsense, and back when I was a lot more openly emotional (aka: angry) this kind of stuff somehow mattered to me. At some point not too many years later, I realized none of this mattered and I shouldn't give a shit. That would've been the end of it, too, if Taylor Swift hadn't dropped REPUTATION not too long after and decided that everybody should care a **lot** about her personal life and celebrity tabloid nonsense. And besides a brief period during the COVID lockdown when she recorded her "more" albums, that sort of thing has basically been all she's written about ever since. Between that and the "(Taylor's Version)" re-recordings and the Eras Tour, her brand since REPUTATION has basically been just "ME!" And none of that should matter to me. I don't care about what goes on in the personal lives of celebrities unless it's some real egregious shit; if Taylor Swift wants to have her albums be "lore drops," ala the stuff on THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, how does that affect me? But that's where we get to the thing that actually causes me to struggle with Taylor. In a word, it's overexposure. When Taylor embarked on her Eras Tour a while back, she quickly became perhaps the single most famous person on Earth. It felt like I couldn't go anywhere without hearing about her or how damn successful the tour was. Every day: "the Eras Tour is a nation unto itself! It's pulled in so much money, it has its own GDP! It's the most successful tour EVER!!" And it bothered me to walk through the Walmart where I worked and see so many damn books and magazines about her and how **just absolutely wonderful** she was. It felt like all of this shit was being forced upon me and it just really turned me off of her and her music. What's funny about that is that, honestly, if it weren't for this extreme level of overexposure, I figure I might honestly listen to her music more. I wouldn't call myself a super fan or anything, but I could see myself working some of her songs into regular rotation (besides Weird Al parodies and DragonForce covers, anyway). Earlier this year, I watched (the super extended edit of) the Eras Tour concert film ahead of a podcast I like covering it, and besides getting burned out by its length, it pretty much confirmed my thought. So, hey, maybe finally listening to an album of hers will further convince me...? Here's the problem off the very top. If we'd gotten the "more" album that's on here, that'd be one thing. If any of her earlier, country albums were on here, that'd be another thing. Heck, if RED was on here... But of course, **OF COURSE** the one we got was 1989. Of course we got the one released at the height of my Taylor Swift hatedom — the one where everything started going wrong for her music, as far as I can tell. The way I've been seeing it 'til now, if she didn't make the full leap to pop on here, and if it weren't for shit like "Shake It Off", REPUTATION wouldn't have happened, and I wouldn't have spent the next near-decade getting so exhausted. I have to admit, I was kind of dreading getting this album (as much as you **can** dread getting an album, anyway). But, I should give this thing a fair chance. After all, I know there's some damn good songs on here ("Style" and "Wildest Dreams"), so it can't be **all** bad. And, hey, maybe after 800-some words of preamble I should finally get the dang album already, eh? So, did it convince me? Uhm... Maybe a little? But not enough to actually go over the cliff and actually incorporate more Taylor into my listening rotation. 1989 is the kind of album where I feel like I can blame any lack of enthusiasm on it for two reasons. First, this thing has probably had a **massive** impact on pop music that I'm just not even aware of because I didn't listen to this thing at the time. For the longest time I assumed this album was on this list solely because it was "the one where Taylor went pop," and I pre-emptively dismissed it for that, but modern pop stars are probably still building on the framework this thing laid down. If I'm going "Eh, is it really that special?", it might probably be just because Chappel Roan and Sabrina Carpenter and so many people between them and this album have been playing from out of this thing's book. And after that, secondly, there's Taylor's **own** building on this sound. You can trace the "generic Taylor Swift sound" (aka Gracie Abrams) to this exact album, with the scattered fast-spoken-kinda-sung parts and everything. It's the kind of sound we'd go on to hear on LOVER and MIDNIGHTS and all of the billion deluxe editions of THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT... And, look, I'm no stranger to loving a band or artist for having one sound. It's exactly why I like bands like AC/DC, the Ramones and Motörhead. But I guess when you put it together with the kind of baggage I have with Taylor, it can be difficult to just enjoy it on its own without thinking of my frustrations. I mean, I do wonder what this music would sound like to me if I had no idea who she was. Listening through this album, I wasn't able to not think she wasn't just thinking about herself, which is a self-indulgence I've grown to loathe on more recent albums. But imagine how this stuff would sound if I didn't hafta understand it through the lens of Taylor "Me" Swift and instead could just take it as a bunch of character songs. Y'know, like how I've heard the "more" albums play out. I think it'd go two ways. For some songs, the outside context really helps things. "Blank Space" is a song that gets a lot of its appeal for being a reaction to the people who accused her of dating too much. It was her first "Yeah, maybe I **am** a bad guy" song, and it plays way better here than any of her attempts to do that on REPUTATION. Heck, I remember even back in 2014 I was listening to Todd In The Shadows reviewing this song and thinking to myself, "Yeah, this is all fair — get their asses!" I don't think it's a spectacular song in total, but, yeah, I can say I enjoyed it. Then there's the other side of the coin, "Shake It Off". This is a song where, for me at least, knowing anything about Taylor Swift makes it utterly obnoxious. Seriously, to this day it's my least favorite song she's ever done, and all because she's **FUCKIN' LYIN'** on this song. "I'm just gonna shake it off?" A song called "Look What You Made Me Do" would say otherwise! So would "You Need To Calm Down" and whatever equivalents MIDNIGHTS and THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT have. It's only gotten worse with age, because it's always felt to me like a big, forced smile and like she's rubbing it in my face how much she **TOTALLY DOESN'T CARE** when she plainly and obviously actually does. You wouldn't make such a point to tell me you didn't care if you did. At least the detached "Damn, it's 7AM" thing "You Need To Calm Down" scans a lot better, even if it has its own issue of "Me! And gay people, I guess — but mostly: me!" To be 100%, I skipped this song on my listen-through. I was willing to put up with "Bad Blood", one of her other worst songs ever, but not "Shake It Off". Consider **that**, eh? Still, combined they both drag this album down a point or so. No great album would have songs like **this**, in my mind. And I wouldn't even say it's that great of an album, anyway. It's absolutely not bad, and most everyone giving this thing a 1 are likely mostly just mad Taylor's on here at all. But, I'unno. The sound of this album can work in places, but it's just not one I'm all too into. I never wished for it to end like I have with some albums, but by the time this thing ended, I felt like the only reaction I could really have was a light "Yep. That's a pop album alright." And that's even with the excuses for this thing I listed above. And I know it's not because I'm a rock supremacist, or (if we wanna jump to a more extreme accusation) that I just don't like female pop stars or anything. I own Lady Gaga's ARTPOP, for goodness sake. It's just... Not my kind of pop. Not the kind I enjoy. My tastes typically skew a lot older or just weirder, and this... Well, just doesn't do it for me too much. "Style" **is** incredible, though. Lemme just take a paragraph out to say that "Style" is the best song on the album, bar none. If I were to work anything I heard here into my regular rotation, it'd be that. So 1989 wasn't as painful as I thought it'd be. It had its highs, and its lows (and even lowers), and in the end... I'm fine with it. It sure as heck hasn't convinced me I need to go listen to her stuff past this point (except maybe the "more" albums; we'll see when EVERMORE pops up), but maybe I might look into the earlier ones? But if nothing else, it proved my thesis at least a little: I **would** like more Taylor Swift music if I wasn't just so overwhelmed by her everything. I mean, give me some time. Let the hype and the Era Tour and the (Taylor's Version)s and everything fade away. Once she's no longer the single most popular artist in the universe... Yeah, I'll probably dig her. In any case, until then, please do not kill me, any Swifties who happen upon this. I am scared to death of you people and I'll fold like a house of cards if you come steppin' to me, so... Just be gentle, OK? Please?

This is a good album, but the overexposure of the singles has given me some major burnout from this track list. 3.5 bumped down to 3.

Wasn't bad

this is probably her worst album but it's still too scientifically engineered to be enjoyable to call it "bad" per se. a 1/5 as a taylor album but perfectly acceptable in the grand scheme of things

I've heard this album many times because my girlfriend is a huge fan. It's alright, a lot of catchy beats and nice vocal arrangements. I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it just because I heard it somewhat often in my life. It's not something that I would put on but I don't hate it either.

This album starts off strong with some uplifting tracks but soon melds into one ongoing synth with little differentiation. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Did I think it was just generic music to slowly sway to? Also yes. I didn't get a story, and I didn't get the heartbreak that everybody else did.

This is a pop record. It is as good and bad as every other standard pop record. There are a few great songs and lots of mid. If I was a teenage girl in 2015 going through a breakup I would connect to this album more. Fortunately, I am not.

I can't say I've ever sat down and listened to a full Taylor Swift album. Partly because of my age, gender and taste in music. However, I was surprised how many songs I recognised. She's popular. For someone who has been accused (on many occasions) of being an uptight music snob, I've never really had a problem with her. She produces (writes as well?) catchy music. She appears to have ditched the country sound I recall she came onto the scene with. Anyway, the album. 1989 starts with an MC-808 beat and a song about New York. I'm sure there's a reason she started it this way, but there wasn't anything particularly inspiring about one of the world's most sung about cities. It's been done, love. It's been done. However, as the tracks went on, I actually didn't mind it. She knows how to write a good melody ('Bad Blood', 'Shake it Off' and 'Out of the Woods'). While the lyrics didn't particularly hit home for me, I could pick up on the vibe she was trying to give. I read a little about the album in an incredibly expansive Wikipedia article and nodded along when it go to section where it talked about synth pop. I've decided that my song I'm going to add to my playlist is 'Blank Space', upon second listen I realised I was listening more intently to the lyrics and enjoying the melodies more than yesterday (when I wrote most of this review). I'm sure it's a hit, but I'd not heard it before. In fact, the second listen found me enjoying the melodies more and more. Taylor Swift (and I'm sure a series of writers/producers) can write a catchy song. I understand why she's so popular. So, in summary, I didn't hate it. I'd even perhaps admit to others that I kind of liked it. Perhaps. 3 Stars.

This album is like you’ve just ended a toxic relationship with a girl who was a bad influence, dragging you into a damaging lifestyle of excess. You’ve woken up feeling like a new man, you’re here to live clean, and you’re maintaining a positive outlook on the world. You’ll never forget where you’ve come from, but you’re more focussed on where you are going.

Has the hits. Is adored but don’t think ground breaking. Folklore is a better album

Taylor jumps into pop music and drops the country. I do not like Shake it off, "getting down to this sick beat" While playing the least interesting part of the song grates the song overall. Maybe the starter of releasing not the strongest song as first single of TS projects Bad blood OG without Kendrick is good. But the remix was better. It takes guts to jump music generes when you are the best at your own, I give kuddos for that, but this album is way overhyped IMO 3/5

I can't even lie, love taylor, but I am not a 1989 girlie

This is better than expected. I can see how it taps into an empowering perspective for young women.

Some great hits and fun melodies but let down by the lyrics, which get a little self-pitying. FS: Blank Space

A wise woman once said, "we are all Swifties". On some levels, I see truth to this philosophy - the hits are HITS. Blank space, shake it off and style are pop perfection. That said, I'm afraid for me the rest of the album is overhyped. I hated the opening track and found a lot of the lyrics blood curdlingly earnest. Perhaps it is because I am British. Also, every time I hear Taylor Swift say "you should have been getting down to this sick beat!" my skin crawls. It wasn't even a sick beat!

Weeellll no soi fan pero esta bien

So this really isn’t my thing but I am guilty of saying that I’ve both listened to and enjoyed this before the list brought it up… I’m definitely not who this is written for, but it’s unmistakably good pop songs. I’m not sure there’s much more to add. Its like a Greggs Chicken and Bacon baguette. There’s nothing more you really need to say about it. It is what it is. A nice sandwich for the masses. It’s no where near as good as Folklore / Evermore, but they are totally different styles. Probably more my cuppa tea. But I’m not gonna whack on Folklore to make up dance moves with my daughter, that’s what this record is for. And not to pour scorn on the equivalent mega pop stars I grew up with in the 90s, this is MILES better musically than say Britney Spears, Steps, Spice Girls, etc. Pop music has come a long way!

This is the big Swift album I guess, most of the songs I know were on here I think. Though they are pretty much all big at this point. Being called 1989 when the first riff kicked in I expected it to really lean in to 80s pop and after that it didn't really, maybe she was born in 1989? Of the tracks I didn't know welcome to new York was the best. Taylor Swift is definitely the best of this sort of pop but the tracks without a hook are a bit washy and lyrically its a bit too relentlessly about relationships failing meaningfully.

Blank Space Style Shake It Off Bad Blood

T swizzle is the shizzle. I stole my sister's vinyl copy of this album to listen to it. Best grindcore album, second only to Pig Destroyer's 2004 masterpiece, "Terrifyer". The album Terrifyer is widely regarded to be the best grindcore album of all time, for obvious reason. 1989 was good grindcore too, but I would've liked more breakdowns and guitar solos. Also their blastbeats seemed a little lacking. Still waiting on Terrifyer (Scott Hull's version) btw.

Best Song: Out Of The Woods. I like the layered rhythms and the driving chorus, but I think the writing in this song is the best on the album, from even just a purely aesthetic view. The staccato feeling of "are we out of the woods"and "are we in the clear yet" really gives a feeling of running and driving purpose. Worst Song: Bad Blood. I really dislike the chorus, especially how it sounds like it was designed to be sung by a crowd and therefore can't stand up on its own merits. Overall: A very solid pop album, although it does feel like a mix of megahits and forgettable tracks. Lyrically and tonally it is pretty one-note, but it does that note pretty well.

I wasn't looking forward to this and, while I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it again, 1989 wasn't as bad as I thought. I listened to the Taylor's version of the album as I do respect Taylor thumbing her nose at a controlling record company. I was going to complain about it being overlong, but the original was nearly 30 minutes shorter, so I won't. Ironically, the only song I would like to hear again aside from Shake It Off - which was good fun, is only on Taylor's Version - New Romantics. Overall though, most of the album is just generic, mass market, pop that I feel I could get from anywhere.

Catchy boppy pop. Not for me.

I’ve heard this album a few times. It’s got that 80’s feel to it. Even the vault songs are good. Best songs are “Shake it Off, Style, Blank Space, and Clean. 1001 album worthy: yes 98/179

First time I’ve listened to an entire Taylor Swift album, although I’ve heard plenty of her songs. It’s a fairly well done album full of pop nuggets. It was a fun listen.

Perfectly palatable pop. Similar to La Roux or Chvrches from the same period.

PRE-LISTENING: This will be the second time I have listened to a Taylor Swift album. I listened to one of them a few years ago the day it came out (Google tells me it was called Midnights.) I have also heard at least some (maybe all) of Ryan Adams' version of this album. Here goes! LISTENING: Catchy, I get it, it's just not for me. My wallet and I are grateful that I basically missed this phenomenon with Maggie. Enjoyed it more than Supertramp though.

J - 3/5 Best Track - "Bad Blood" F - 3/5

The hits were hitting and the rest was…well, missing

Dá pra entende a importância da pessoa no mercado, mas não é minha vibe!

It's not too bad. I'm not really a fan. But it's not too bad. My wife and daughters really like her. I'm pretty indifferent. Hence the 3 stars. I by no means think it's bad. I just don't think it's that good either.

This belongs on this list way more than any of the Leonard Cohen albums. If I was a woman Id probably find this a little lore enjoyable.

I liked it more when I was 15.

First time that I've listened to a Taylor Swift album. Catchy tunes. Don't need to listen to them again, but I now understand some of the appeal.

Not the kind of music that I usually listen! The only reason I gave it a 3 ;-) Nothing against her, nothing against her music, she's obviously a talented woman... but this music is, for me, the kind of music I compare to a gum, you chew it and you through it away when finished!

I will admit that I have a soft spot for Blank Space. It's a great pop song and a guilty pleasure of mine. There's a couple other tracks I didn't mind but this music is really not my bag. If there has to be a Taylor Swift album on this list, this should be it. I already listened to evergreen on the list and that one was baaaaaaaaad.

This is a good album, not gonna lie. But listening to this fills me with rage at what an insecure fuck put together this list of 1001 albums because he clearly doesn't love the ladies. This album should be on this list. But to include this 2014 album and not include Robyn's 2010 Body Talk or even 2004 Robyn is just outrageous--pop supreme. Elsewhere, when I get yet another Bjork album I'll rail against only one Patti Smith but for now I'm gonna play tiny dancer Robyn to clarify the air.

I never heard a Taylor Swift song that didn't sound like a shampoo commercial. Some parts are catchy, and other parts feel contrived to the point of being a turn off. A couple good songs ("Blank Space", "Style"), plenty of skips ("Welcome to New York" for SURE, "Shake it Off"). I don't think anyone cares what I really think here so I'm going to shut the fuck up.

Overrated, overproduced girl pop. But it's very accessible, and at times, catchy and nostalgic. So I won't give it a 2.

Lots of her hits but seems a bit hollow from a depth perspective. In the 3 side of a 3.5.

Yeah I heard someone say Taylor Swift sounds like unseasoned chicken once and I have to agree. Like how does she have such a massive following?

3/5 decent pop

leichtes geträller im popkleid - schlager à l‘américaine?! die zeit geht im flug, und dann ist dann gut.

3.5

Not much for modern pop but as the genre goes, this was a good album. At least Taylor can really sing without being breathy as compared to some of the other pop stars out there.

Álbum muito nostálgico para mim. Ele é consistente nas virtudes e nos defeitos, o maior sendo a repetitividade dos refrões, que são cansativos. Tem bons momentos.

An emotionless void of an album that is saved by really good production and a few pop hits

Some hits. Some duds.

I like a bit of Taylor. Harmless fun

Naja, ich werde kein Swiftie!

Standard Taylor Swift. Some bops, some not as good. Would listen to as background.

Listened once to Taylor's version, listened once to the original. Sorry, Taylor. Not exactly my speed, but I still enjoy this. Wildest Dreams, Style, Blank Space are my favourites (the latter two I knew before this listen). I am giving everything here a fair chance! When this was coming out (2014) I was graduating from high school. Some friends were driving to Edmonton to see her. They invited me, but I turned it down because the tickets were too expensive at $80. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had gone.

3.5

2.5

There are three songs I really liked on this album, "Style", the self penned "This Love", and the Imogen Heap produced "Clean". There were a couple songs where the chorus would catch my ear while the rest of it just felt like uninspired pop ("Blank Space", "All You Had To Do Was Stay"). The rest is really the kind of Max Martin pop I really stay away from. Then there's the egregious errors a) the fkg cheerleader beat on "Shake It Off" (I just don't like that particular brand of pop whether it's Taylor, Avril, Gwen, Chappell or even Toni Basil)... b)"areweoutofthewoodsareweoutofthewoodsareweoutofthewoodsareweoutofthewoods areweintheclearyetareweintheclearyetareweintheclearyetareweintheclearyet" gave me a fkg headache... and c) "Bad Blood" which everytime Taylor acts like a bad ass, it just comes off like high school drama. Ultimately I don't like this album, but it's not horrendous. Just the hype around it makes it feel like it is. (5.85) ★★½

Some shrill moments, but classic moments as well. Anthemic boldness make it a good listen

I've been wanting to hear this one from start to finish for a while now so I'm glad to see it pop up. "Shake It Off" is a really great piece of pop music. It had its time in the spotlight but since then I've heard it randomly and I've had this thought linger that this song is so good for what it is. It's not some deep lyrical piece, but it's an incredibly catch song with a lot of quality elements and one of the better pristine poppy tracks of at least that decade. The pop-hip hop groove is great, the melodies are impressively catchy, that brass part is so infectious, those little laugh faux adlibs are adorable, and it doesn't take itself too seriously. It sounds like she's having fun sitting there in the studio and it is so glaringly more genuine than a lot of her other tunes. This is a side of Taylor Swift that I desperately want more of. Even if she made more tracks outside of this style but took the authenticity of this track and approached her other songs in this manner, I would be way more into her stuff. Unfortunately, many of the other songs are hard for me to get through. The intro "Welcome To New York" sounds like a fake song that some Gen Z'er made to make fun of "millenial music". It tries to be expansive with huge synths at 00:44, I guess to show this big grandiose version of the city? The production doesn't do it any favors; the kicks don't kick you, the snares don't snap, and the claps are the most perfectly aligned "keyboard drumset" nonsense you can imagine. It's so vanilla. The lyrics are her usual bland variety: "It's a new soundtrack, I could dance to this beat, beat forevermore The lights are so bright, but they never blind me, me Welcome to New York, it's been waitin' for you" What was the purpose of this track? I don't think it came from a great set of lyrics, I don't think it came from a great melody either, as the melody sounds more like it was bolted on rather than baked in. It sounds like it was made to check the box of having a "club song" on her record. Or rather a "song that girls will play before they go out to the club". This is my least favorite reasoning to write a song- album playlist pragmatism. I'm surprisingly annoyed by the chorus in "Out of the Woods", as this soft-pop style doesn't really ever present musical elements that are annoying to me but that chorus is kind of grating to hear over and over and over. And it's not even that catchy of a phrase that it could be played on repeat a few times and then everyone on earth will be humming it for weeks. At the end where we get a full like 32(?) measures of it from 3:07 to 3:50 is particularly annoying. "areweoutofthewoodsyetareweoutofthewoodsyetareweoutofthewoodsyetareweoutofthewoodsyetareweoutofthewoodsyetareweoutofthewoodsyet". I really don't want to dislike Taylor Swift. She's a polarizing figure in my friend groups, and honestly I don't ever really let that influence me too much; I can enjoy acts that none of my friends like, and I can dislike acts that all of my friends like, and yet every time I go to give Taylor Swift some time I always get let down. She has a great voice, she has all the producers she could ever want to work it, and hell she is a pop star who writes her own songs (or at least has some effort in it? I remember this being a thing years ago and I don't know if she still writes as much). That should be enough to churn out great tunes over and over forever and evermore, and yet that's not what happens. "Shake It Off" is a truly great song, and there are some other hits on here that people love- like "Blank Space", "Bad Blood", "Style", that I feel like are inflated by her fan base and are just OK pop tracks. The repetitive and formulaic choruses just frustrate me to rate this any higher than a 3.

I get why she’s super popular, but her stuff isn’t for me. Some is cringe. Some is good that’s all I can say.

I will preface this review by stating that I was expecting much worse. In reality, there are many cool pop hits with solid hooks. The lyrics are not something to write home about, but of all of the Taylor Swift records, I was glad to get this one.

good pop

I'm neither a Swiftie nor a hater, so I have a hard time getting excited about this album either way. It was probably the first Taylor Swift album I listened to all the way through when it was released, and I enjoyed a few of the singles. At the same time, while it's decent enough pop music, it's also very typical Max Martin/Jack Antonoff/Ryan Tedder fodder, and all of the songs blend together after a while (which is how I feel about most of Taylor's music — the same two or three melodies over and over). I think Taylor deserves to be on a list like this, but more so for her impact/influence than her actual music. I think she's a competent songwriter, and I appreciate the vulnerable singer-songwriter lyrics. I can also appreciate how she's played with genre and her image over the years. For whatever reason though, I've never really connected with her songs the same way I have with other artists (or the way so many fans have with her). Even if not many of her songs have resonated with me personally, it's hard to deny the impact she's had on the music world. She has obviously influenced an entire generation of artists (for better or worse) given the endless copycats you can hear now. But I think her real strength is in her business acumen. She and Beyonce are probably the closest thing to a Madonna or a Michael Jackson we'll see in the 21st century. As for the album itself, it's fine. It's perfectly serviceable pop music. It marks a turning point in her music where she starts to shift from teen star into a more mature artist. And a few songs have decent staying power (and meme power — Starbucks lovers, etc.). When comparing the original album to the "Taylor's version" re-recording it's clear that her voice has improved over the years, though she'll never be a powerhouse singer. But this album is also really long and repetitive. Besides the singles, there's not a ton that stands out for me. After listening to it a couple times when it first came out, I haven't had any desire to listen to it again, and I had zero memory of the non-single tracks after putting it on for this listen. 3/5 — decent but not amazing

Blank Space Style Out of the Woods Shake It Off

While her type of music isn’t my thing, I do think Taylor Swift is a talented musician and songwriter. This album, though, is just formulaic pop at its worst and when it’s at its best it just seems like outtakes from CHVRCHES’ The Bones of What You Believe.

Wildest dream is a banger but rest of the album did scratch the itch

I know you would probably expect me to be very hard on 1989 considering that the person who made it has one of the worst fanbases ever but i don't really think i can since i don't hate this album all too much. Don't get me wrong, its not perfect but i was expecting quite a bit worse. The music, while not something out of the ordinary for contemporary pop, is serviceable and has enough variety. Taylor's vocals were also pretty good as well but the lyrics have a certain cringeiness to them and they cause the songs to feel like they are in a weird order. Its by no means an amazing album but it has enough good elements for it to get a pass from me. Best Song: Style Worst Song: Clean

People will hate Taylor Swift and 1989 on principle and while I went in with said stance I will concede that the album is completely fine. This is tightly designed pop music that is showing its age 10 years on. Ultimately the album references for me a time in popular music which I am not positively nostalgic of. 1989 targets a young audience and leaves a saccharine impression but at the end of it all you cannot completely deny the sweet tooth for catchy, massive choruses. Rating: 3.5

Taylor Swift gets a lot of hate and I get it but some of these songs are pretty damn catchy. It’s not the music I like but I can see the appeal

Robotic production I hate jack antonoff

Never listened to this album before but turned out I knew most of the songs already. It's pop for pre-teens so not really my thing, but a pleasant enough listen anyway.

After just listening to Frank Sinatra this is very much of the same vein. Pop music designed to sell that's sort of out of step with pop culture but so produced and slick it doesn't matter. I can't imagine how she goes about picking a single when any one of these songs are completely interchangeable. But of course that's the point and what makes her a genius. When everything is at the exact same caliber she can't go wrong.

Great pop album

Look, the woman writes bops. Been doing it since 2008, since Love Story. The people have spoken and I’m here for the radio singles: Blank Space .. and Style … and Shake It Off … and (the bridge into the chorus of) Bad Blood … and Wildest Dreams. I acknowledge the rest of the slate was AI-generated generic—though excellent house remix fodder! Anyway, keep it up, Tay-Tay! (I still will be rooting for the Eagles 🦅)

More of a 2.5. It was fine? A bit of a slog after Bad Blood and I was glad it was over.

The thing I like about TS is that when she's derivative (maybe always) she puts her whole self into it. It's literally not for me, but the people it is for get all of it.

I've never listened to a Taylor Swift album which is surprising considering many of my most respected colleagues are obsessed with her music. I've always felt I was not the target audience I suppose. I do appreciate that she was one of a few billionaires not sitting on stage during the inauguration. I most enjoyed the first track of the album. The 80s style synth was well done. It reminded me a lot of Stranger Things soundtrack artist Michael Stein who makes modern music that sounds more 80s than actual 80s music. The rest of the album didn't really resonate with me. It's certainly something I would be happy to dance to when just the right amount of drunk. Ex: Say I start drinking at 4pm. I would love this album from like 4:45 to 5:30. I've also never been disappointed, hurt or angry enough with another person to really connect with these lyrics. Considering the insane sales and devoted following, she's obviously doing something right. But the same can be said of Fireball whiskey.

Never having actually sat down and listened to more than the occasional Tswift song, I really had no idea what to expect here. 1) I would much rather listen to 1989 than literally any Metallica album. There's some catchy stuff in 1989, it's really not that bad. 2) I feel like I could write some (any?) of these songs. There's a complete lack of depth to everything on this album. It's hard to explain, but it just sounds like ultra produced sound effects behind a simple (albeit catchy) melody, every, single, track. Simple doesn't always lack depth (Sufjan Steven's anyone?), so that's not the problem. It's just boring and extremely predictable pop music. 3) I most definitely did not hear anything to inspire the widespread and creepy devotion of Swifties. It's just slightly better Katy perry and/or Pink. All in all, it's not bad. But that's as good as it gets. 🤷‍♂️ Chappell Roan, Tegan and Sarah, and Lana Del Ray all do it 10x better. We don't NEED Taylor Swift to be great, so I'm still confused after having listened to this album. It's a niche that is already filled by many others who have managed to make badass, fun pop music. Whatever, I tried. See you at the super bowl, Taylor.

I would never have listened to this album except that Ryan Adams released an entire cover album of it when it came out. I'm glad he did because I would have missed out on some really masterfully written pop songs. This is not the kind of music I would normally listen to. But I can't deny it's good. The pedigree of producers is top notch. The synthy 80s style maximalist pop and vocals are really fun. And it's catchy as hell. I'm not a Swiftie by any stretch of the imagination, but I will defend this album.

Taylor Swift could write catchy songs for any milieu from Music Row to Madison Avenue. (Welcome to New York, for one, sounds like it was written for a chamber of commerce.) She churns out hooks and hits, and this album is full of both. Style and Wildest Dreams shimmer despite some weird phrasings (I blame the Swedes), but most of the hits are a bit goofy. She needed a few more tries to make an album with no overtly embarrassing moments. Two of the better tunes are relegated to the “deluxe edition” (capitalism!): You Are in Love, which evokes Secret Garden-era Bruce (complimentary), and New Romantics, which unbelievably was never used in an episode of Girls (lol).

Not my favorite Taylor but still a good pop album.

Fine. Catchy, poppy, polished, and Shake It Off is a great song. But listening to this makes feel like I’m in a store where I’m not the target demographic.

Don’t rush to color me Swiftie, but I do admit she’s pretty good. I can see why so many people love her stuff. Some of these songs are a little overplayed, but catchy nonetheless.

It was fun, but long

I will never understand the appeal of Taylor Swift, who generally makes average music. I don't hate it because there's nothing interesting enough about it to hate; I just don't understand why she is thought of as an amazing artist. SOMEONE, PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME!!!!

Not sure what all the fuss is about, but I’m not her target audience. Tunes are catchy ear-worms, vocals are ordinary, and lyrics are boilerplate pop. But she clearly resonates with her audience, which I sort of respect.

Taylor Swift writes catchy tunes, I'll give her that. I don't deny happily singing along to several of these, but I got bored with the album after a while. Given her immense popularity and success it's hard to say she's not talented. She certainly gives her audience what they want and that seems to be a lot of the same sound and content.