Taylor Swift, one of the biggest pop stars of this generation, has 10 albums (more if you count the re-recordings) and has undergone multiple genre changes throughout her career. She has dominated the charts since 2006, and while not all of her songs are known by seemingly everyone (think “Love Story” and “Shake it Off”), several are, at the very least, top songs for the Swiftie fandom (“All Too Well (Taylor’s Version and “august”).
But which songs tend to be overlooked by Swifties, critics and casual listeners? Here are five, ranked from least to most underrated:
5. “Say Don’t Go (Taylor’s Version)”
One of the vault tracks off “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” “Say Don’t Go,” was overshadowed by the other new tracks on her latest re-recording. The song showcases Swift’s vocal range, giving us wistful lower notes in the first verse and higher pop princess notes in the chorus. With driving bass and an incredibly satisfying release, every chorus after repeated an intense buildup. “Say Don’t Go" deserves more love.
“The Great War” was released as a bonus track on “Midnights (3 a.m. Edition),” the deluxe version of Swift’s 10th studio album. The song describes a fight to keep a relationship alive, using Swift’s classic imagery in her lyrics to compare the situation to a war. In just the very first line, “My knuckles were bruised like violets / Sucker punching walls, cursed you as I sleep-talked,” Swift creates a clear image of how this situation made her feel and sets the stage for how the rest of the lyrics will sound.
3. “Eyes Open”
Written for “The Hunger Games” movie soundtrack, “Eyes Open” is often overshadowed by its more laid-back and mature-sounding counterpart, “Safe and Sound.” “Eyes Open” is an exciting pop-and-rock-infused track with driving electric guitar and intense drums. The track offers an exciting visual and feeling of alertness and life that few songs can evoke on their own.
2. “Crazier”
Another song written for a movie, “Crazier,” is not only part of the soundtrack of “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” but also is featured in a scene with a cameo of Swift. The song is a gorgeous love ballad that encapsulates Swift’s country era. It is sweet, cheesy and overly sincere, but it still manages to channel all the emotions outside the context of the movie.
Swift’s most underrated song, “The Outside,” is off her debut self-titled album. With “Taylor Swift” easily being her most overlooked album, this song is not usually what people point to when explaining what makes it great, but it should be. The chord that hits right when she begins to sing “I’ve been a lot of lonely places” during the chorus is enough on its own to make happy noises in your ears, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this song. It is upbeat, exciting, relatable and incredibly fun to dance to. Let’s show more love to “The Outside.”
