'Folklore' Is Best, 'Reputation' Is Worst

3. "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)"

Final grade: 10.7/10

For most of her career, "Speak Now" has been Swift's most underrated album. Sandwiched between the commercial juggernaut "Fearless" and the fan-favorite "Red," it seemed to fly under the radar for many of her casual listeners.

For the uninitiated, it's important to note that "Speak Now" has an interesting and impressive lore. Swift was the only songwriter credited on original the 14-track album. She doubled down on "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)," discarding the cowritten bonus cut "If This Was a Movie" and only adding songs "from the vault" that she wrote by herself.

"I didn't want to just be handed respect and acceptance in my field, I wanted to earn it," she explained in the album's prologue. "I figured, they couldn't give all the credit to my cowriters if there weren't any."

"I had no idea how much this pain would shape me," Swft continued. "This was the beginning of my series of creative choices made by reacting to setbacks with defiance."

Indeed, "Speak Now" is a portrait of a precocious young woman, hungry to prove herself. It's also a curious paradox; for someone so preoccupied with being perceived as a "good girl," her only self-written album is surprisingly fierce, strong-willed, and gutsy.

The title track casts Swift as a rebel with a cause, itching to interrupt her soulmate's wedding, while "Dear John" is an unforgettable takedown of a man who should've known better.

She confronts her critics on "Mean" ("All you are is mean, and a liar, and pathetic, and alone in life") and scathes a vintage dress-wearing saboteur in "Better Than Revenge." Even with the now-infamous lyric change, the song is still packed with quick jabs and unruly one-liners — including one that feels downright prophetic today ("You might have him, but I always get the last word").

Other highlights like "Enchanted," "Haunted," and "Long Live" further reveal the album's emo-rock roots. For "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)," Swift brought her influences to the foreground, enlisting Warped Tour icons Hayley Williams and Fall Out Boy as featured artists.

Unfortunately, a few key moments lost their sparkle in the rerecorded tracklist (R.I.P. to the shaky inhale in the bridge of "Last Kiss"), but Swift's mature voice was able to breathe new life into others.

"Innocent," which I used to consider a skip, is truly sublime when delivered by an actual 32-year-old who's still growing up, now. Once dedicated to a man who didn't deserve it, the song now shines in the afterglow of self-reflection, as though teenage Swift is reaching through time to comfort her future self.

"Speak Now" was always an album about making mistakes and overcoming shame, about "reacting to setbacks with defiance," in Swift's own words. "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" is the physical embodiment of that spirit. By reclaiming ownership of her music, Swift made sure her words would ring truer than ever.

God-tier songs: "Dear John," "Enchanted," "Long Live"

Worth listening to: "Mine," "Sparks Fly," "Back to December," "Speak Now," "Mean," "The Story of Us," "Never Grow Up," "Better Than Revenge," "Innocent," "Haunted," "Last Kiss," "Electric Touch (feat. Fall Out Boy)," "When Emma Falls In Love," "I Can See You," "Castles Crumbling (feat. Hayley Williams)," "Foolish One," "Timeless"

Background music: "Ours"

Skip: "Superman"

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