The 50 Best Taylor Swift Songs from Every Era, Ranked by Cosmo Editors
We are never ever ever ever ever betting against T-Swift.
In this year of our lord 2025, as we step into our Life of a Showgirl era, it's more than clear that Taylor Swift is one of the most prolific songwriters in the game. Not only is she constantly creating new music (never forget when she started working on TTPD right after finishing Midnights...and while on her Eras Tour), she's consistently putting out absolute bangers and lyrical masterpieces. So, while we await her next release, my fellow Cosmo editors and I did the impossible and crafted a definitive ranking of the 50 best Taylor Swift songs—so far.
Quick disclaimer before we dive in: This was...an incredibly hard task. Swift's catalog is vast—12 albums, vault songs, Taylor's Versions, etc—and different albums speak to different fans. In the spirit of celebrating all of Taylor's eras, this list includes every album from Taylor Swift to The Life of a Showgirl. Once the Cosmopolitan-editor-curated list of best Taylor Swift songs was officially determined by the Swifties in our office, I ranked the songs by preference and impact (hey, someone's gotta do it!). My ranking might not be the exact same as yours, and we may disagree on the details, but let's be real: if you're a Swiftie who doesn't have "All Too Well (10-Minute Version)" in your top 5 best Taylor Swift songs, are you even really a fan? Let's get into it...
"Tim McGraw"
Let's kick things off with Taylor's debut album, shall we? Former Cosmopolitan Senior Editor of News Analysis and Opinion Naureen Khan says this is the song that made her realize just how big Swift could be back in 2006. "We should've known she was a genius. The lyricism! The pining! The images!!"
Best lyric: "When you think Tim McGraw / I hope you think my favorite song / The one we danced to all night long / The moon like a spotlight on the lake."
"Dancing With Our Hands Tied"
No matter where you stand on the Reputation album, it's undeniable that it includes some of Swift's most-experimental work. With its house music vibes, "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" doesn't sound like any other Swift song, hence its spot on the list.
Best lyric: "I loved you in spite of / Deep fears that the world would divide us / So, baby, can we dance? / Oh, through an avalanche?"
"Mary's Song (Oh My My My)"
This deep cut from Swift's debut album is a personal fave of Cosmopolitan Beauty Editor Beth Gillette, who calls the masterpiece "one of the first songs I heard of Taylor's where she masterfully tells a love story from start to finish."
Best lyric: "I'll be 87, you'll be 89 / I'll still look at you like the stars that shine / In the sky, oh my my my"
"This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things"
If I had to pick one song to describe Swift's Reputation Era, it would be "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things." Lyrically, it's the most explicit song about what she experienced during the whole Kanye West/Kim Kardashian feud. It's also pretty damn catchy.
Best lyric: "It was so nice being friends again / There I was, giving you a second chance / But you stabbed in in the back while shaking my hand"
“So Long London”
It's not controversial to say that The Tortured Poets Department is probably Taylor's most divisive record. You either love it or hate it, but regardless of how you feel about the album as a whole, I think we can all agree that the bittersweet breakup track “So Long London” is a standout.
Best lyric: “Thinkin', how much sad did you think I had / Did you think I had in me? / Oh, the tragedy”
"Cowboy Like Me"
Cosmo's Assistant News Editor Samantha Olson is convinced that Evermore's "Cowboy Like Me" features "some of the best lyrics of Swift's career," and is also one of her best songs. As a fellow Swiftie, I have no choice but to respect her assessment—she's not wrong. I mean, pls see the below...
Best lyric: "Now you hang from my lips / Like the Gardens of Babylon / With your boots beneath my bed / Forever is the sweetest con"
“loml”
This song has all the hallmarks of a great Taylor Swift song: lost love, heartbreak, a lying liar who lies, and a slow, melancholy melody. As Beauty Editor Beth Gillette boldy declarede, “loml” is “THE BEST PART OF TTPD.”
Best lyric: “A con man sells a fool a get-love-quick scheme.”
"No Body, No Crime" feat. HAIM
Another iconic Swift revenge track, "No Body, No Crime," is, in my mind, one of her best in the storytelling genre. There is just something so satisfying about women coming together to avenge their friend by taking out her cheating/murdering husband. Girl power!
Best lyric: "Good thing my daddy made me get a boating license when I was fifteen / And I've cleaned enough houses to know how to cover up a scene"
"You're Losing Me"
Released as a vault song off Midnights, Swifties believe "You're Losing Me" is about the singer's former relationship with Joe Alwyn, and they make a compelling case. But the song isn't good because of what it reveals about Swift's personal life; it goes way beyond that, both lyrically and symbolically. Featuring the sound of Swift's heartbeat (much like 1989's "Wildest Dreams"), the track's mix of depression and heartbreak leads into a standout bridge (in classic Swift fashion), ranking it up there with some of her best vulnerable work.
Best lyric: "And all I did was bleed as I tried to be the bravest soldier / Fighting in only your army / Frontlines, don't you ignore me / I'm the best thing at this party (You're losin' me) / And I wouldn't marry me either / A pathological people pleaser / Who only wanted you to see her."
"Should've Said No"
Just as the sun will always rise in the East, Swift will always write a good breakup song—which was proven all the way back on her debut namesake album. "Should've Said No" is the O.G. of Swift's genre of petty revenge tracks that absolutely slap.
Best lyric: "You shouldn't be beggin' for forgiveness at my feet / You should've said, 'No' / Baby, and you might still have me"
“Dress”
“Dress” wasn't originally on my personal Best Taylor Swift songs list, but then I watched the series finale of The Summer I Turned Pretty (IYKYK) and now I can't stop thinking about it. So, here it is. The Bonrad song to end all Bonrad songs (not including “False God,” obviously).
Best lyric: “Inescapable / I'm not even gonna try / And if I get burned, at least we were electrified”
"New Romantics (Taylor's Verson)"
Listen, 1989 undeniably includes some of Taylor's biggest hits—from "Blank Space" to "Shake It Off" and "Wildest Dreams," which is why this bonus track often gets lost in the shuffle. But it shouldn't, according to Cosmopolitan Senior Editor Lauren Alexis Fisher. "New Romantics is such an underrated bop and absolutely should've earned a spot on the album, not just as a bonus song," she says. "To me, it romanticizes being young and riding the waves of dating, love, and heartbreak with your friends."
Best lyric: “Heartbreak is the national anthem / We sing it proudly / We’re too busy dancing / To get knocked off our feet / Baby, we're the new romantics / The best people in life are free.”
"I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor's Version)"
A quintessential Swift breakup song from the Red era. It's truly impossible to listen to this song and not want to belt out the chorus. Her power!
Best lyric: "And the saddest fear comes creepin' in / That you never loved me, or her or anyone, or anything"
"You Belong with Me (Taylor's Version)"
Would I say "You Belong with Me" is Swift's most standout lyrical work as a songwriter? No, but it cemented her place in pop culture history as one of her first huge mainstream hits, and will remain a go-to karaoke fave forever.
Best lyric: "Dreaming of the day when you wake up and find / That what you're looking for has been here the whole time"
"The Way I Loved You (Taylor's Version)"
To quote Cosmopolitan's Associate Shopping Editor Daisy Maldonado, "If you don't include 'The Way I Loved You,' I will personally be fighting." Points were made; this track off Swift's Fearless album was a fave of fans at the time of the album's release for its ~passionate~ lyrics and storytelling, which helped cement Swift's signature writing style early on.
Best lyric: "He can't see the smile I'm faking / And my heart's not breaking' / Cause I'm not feeling anything at all / And you were wild and crazy / Just so frustrating, intoxicating, complicated / Got away by some mistake."
"Bad Blood (Taylor's Version)"
Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" will go down in history as one of the defining cultural touchstones of 2014. This song has everything: betrayal, payback, a Katy Perry feud, and a video that hard-launched Swift's girl squad into the universe.
Best lyric: "Band-aids don't fix bullet holes / You say sorry just for show / If you live like that, you live with ghosts"
“Mr. Perfectly Fine (Taylor's Version)”
Joe Jonas once again got his due on Swift's "Mr. Perfectly Fine," which was released as a vault track on Fearless (Taylor's Version). The exes might be cool now, but back in 2008 when this song was written, Swift was still reeling from their breakup, which made for epic songs like this.
Best lyric: "I've been pickin' up my heart, he's been pickin' up her / And I never got past what you put me through / But it's wonderful to see that it never phased you"
"Delicate"
As successful, cool, and talented as Swift is, one thing she is not anymore is relatable. She's a literal billionaire. And yet, there's just enough self-doubt and emotional rawness peeking through in "Delicate" to convey the same dating insecurities many of us have felt at one point or another.
Best lyric: "My reputation's never been worse, so / You must like me for me"
"Nothing New (Taylor's Version)" featuring Phoebe Bridgers
A guitar-driven ballad that was later released from the vault, "Nothing New" gives fans a raw look at Swift's fears as a young artist, aging into adulthood in an industry that values youth—especially in women—above all else. And it features Phoebe Bridgers, making it an instant sad girl music classic.
Best lyric: "I know someday I'm gonna meet her, it's a fever dream / The kind of radiance you only have at 17 / She'll know the way, and then she'll say she got the map from me / I'll say I'm happy for her, then I'll cry myself to sleep."
"Getaway Car"
"Getaway Car" features some of the best storytelling on Reputation. In the upbeat pop song, Swift's lyrics are self-aware and revealing about the tangled dating webs she was highly criticized for during this time. Not only did it show some cheeky growth for her, it did so in major bop form.
Best lyric: "It was the best of times, the worst of crimes / I struck a match and blew your mind / But I didn't mean it and you didn't see it / The ties were black, the lies were white."
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