10. ‘Look What You Made Me Do’:

‘Look What You Made Me Do’ had to make it onto this list if not for its musicality but for the cultural phenomenon it became. After the 2016 drama she faced, Taylor Swift reinvented herself quite literally through the lyrics ‘the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? … oh, cause she’s dead.’ This song marked her shift to a more mature, resilient sound and is a dramatic powerhouse that deserves recognition among her greatest hits.

 

 

9. ‘Wildest Dreams’:

‘Wildest Dreams’ is a beautiful example of Taylor Swift’s delicate and sophisticated sound. Expressing her fears of what memories will remain after a relationship has ended, the soft harmonies and sampling of a pounding heartbeat carry the song’s atmospheric fragility. In ‘Wildest Dreams’ Taylor Swift lays herself bare, balancing emotional vulnerability and musical power that together makes for a really beautiful and moving song.

 

 

8. ‘Enchanted’:

‘Enchanted’ is a perfect example of Taylor Swift’s storytelling ability and only just takes the edge over ‘Wildest Dreams’ because of this. Swift takes a normal moment such as meeting someone and turns it into a fairy-tale like dream, only highlighted further by the building of violins and the whimsical lyrics. ‘This night is sparkling, don’t you let it go, I’m wonderstruck blushing all the way home.’ It’s a fantastical daydream of a song.

 

 

7. ‘You Belong With Me’:

‘You Belong With Me’ is an absolute classic in terms of Taylor Swift’s singles and any list of her greatest hits wouldn’t be complete without it. An optimistic story of an unrequited high-school crush offers something to relate to but also a level of fun that makes this song so special. It’s upbeat, catchy and doesn’t take itself too seriously – it’s Swift delivering pop perfection.

 

 

6. ‘Cruel Summer’:

When I first heard the album Lover, this summer, I remember constantly playing ‘Cruel Summer’ on repeat as loud as possible. Its high production value comes as a collaboration between Swift, St Vincent and Jack Antonoff, and is powerful, synth-driven pop goodness at its best. ‘Cruel Summer’ is a powerful force of energy that insists on being played out loud.

 

 

5. ‘All Too Well’:

‘All Too Well’ is often heralded by Taylor Swift’s fans as her magnum opus – a title that it truly deserves. The song is five minutes of pure emotion, it’s Taylor Swift at her rawest, most vulnerable and most honest. What is ultimately a sad break-up song, takes on an anthemic quality as the electric guitars and drums enter. But it’s also some of Swift’s best song-writing, with lyrics such as ‘You call me up again just to break me like a promise, so causally and cruelly in the name of being honest’ standing out among her entire discography. ‘All Too Well’ is Taylor Swift at her best, both lyrically and musically.

 

 

4. ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’:

With ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’, Taylor Swift delivered a cleaner, crisper and more modern sound than any of her previous country/pop singles. She draws influence across genres such as rock, dubstep and alternative whilst still delivering a catchy pop song, and that’s what makes this song so brilliant to me. Swift’s impassioned vocals deliver the anger towards the red flags she sings about, and for the first time in her career she takes a dramatic stand against what has happened to her. ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ carries with it a confidence and power that’s not to be underestimated.

 

 

3. ‘Love Story’:

It seems only right that ‘Love Story’ is in the top three of Taylor Swift’s greatest hits. At the age of 7, it was the first Taylor Swift song I’d ever heard, and even now, 11 years later as an 18-year-old, this song still fills me with so much joy. The catchy pop retelling of Romeo and Juliet is the perfect combination of country strings and guitars with an upbeat, optimistic pop quality that makes for such a brilliantly nostalgic and joyful song. But what makes ‘Love Story’ so iconic to me is that even after 11 years, it still stands out to so many people as her biggest song, people still know all of the words and will shout them as loud as possible when it’s played.

 

 

2. ‘Lover’:

The title track of Taylor Swift’s 2019 album Lover is nothing short of beautiful. It is hopelessly romantic, but unlike in previous songs like ‘Enchanted’ and ‘Love Story’, she is no longer daydreaming. The wedding band set up and the intimacy of lyrics such as ‘my hearts been borrowed and yours has been blue, all’s well that ends well to end up with you’ really capture the overall wander and romanticism. It is a song about being in love and the feeling of falling in love – it’s hopelessly romantic to a point that fills you with butterflies. ‘Lover’ is a charming, heart-warming and truly beautiful song that shows off Swift’s talents exquisitely, making it one of her greatest hits.

 

 

1. ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’:

It seemed only right to place ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ in the number one spot. It’s a classic Taylor Swift pop song that broke her into the mainstream, and rightly so. It’s fun, upbeat, light-hearted, relatable and doesn’t take itself too seriously, with its chorus being infectiously catchy. Potentially the ultimate break-up anthem, ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ not only defined a huge point in Swift’s career as she moved from country/pop into confident pop stardom, but it’s also full of joy and insists on being sung along to. It is the quintessential pop song and Taylor Swift’s greatest hit.