Which Taylor Swift Era Am I?

So, what are Taylor Swift’s eras? Currently, Taylor Swift has 10 studio albums (not including her rerecordings or holiday albums). Swift’s fans, also known as Swifties, began dividing her career and albums into “eras” early on in her career, especially when the pop star moved from country music to a more mainstream sound.

New and old fans continue to dive deep into her discography, discovering and rediscovering songs and aesthetics they relate to. Swift hopped on the trend and announced her latest stadium tour, The Eras Tour, in November 2022. But what happened during these musical eras, and why are they important? Here’s a timeline to bring you up to speed:

• In 2006 , Taylor Swift released her first album, self-titled Taylor Swift . The country album spent 8 months on the Billboard charts with singles like “Tim McGraw” and “Our Song” leading the front. At the 2007 CMAs, Swift won the Best New Artist award, and her “girl next door” presence captured country-lover’s hearts.

• Swift released her second album Fearless in 2008 , which topped the Billboard 200 chart and won Album of the Year at the 2010 Grammys. However, these accolades were not the pivotal point of the era. At the 2009 VMAs, Kanye West jumped on stage and claimed Swift didn’t deserve the Best Female Video award, and that it should be awarded to Beyonce instead. This moment in pop culture would go down in history and be the start of Swift’s controversial image.

• In 2010 , Swift’s third album Speak Now came out. The album spent 6 weeks at the top of the charts and features fan-adored songs like “Mean,” “Dear John,” and “Enchanted.” Sparkles, curls, and whimsical floral designs were all the rage during this era; however, despite the glitz and glam, Swift was criticized for dating too much, being “innocent,” and acting “childish.”

• Swift changed her image in 2012 with her fourth album Red . The once country artist’s music was swaying more toward a pop sound with catchy tunes like “22,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” In this era, Swift lost the curls and cowboy boots, instead rocking blunt, straight bangs and saddle shoes. But even with her newfound look and sound, Swift was still publicly scrutinized for her dating life.

• In an effort to take control of her public image, Swift rebranded herself again in 2014 with the release of her fifth album 1989 . Swift chopped off her hair, sporting a chic straight bob, and swapped her modest attire for short skirts and crop tops. Even so, the criticism got worse thanks to another controversy with Kanye West in 2016 .

• After stepping away from the public eye amidst public backlash, Swift returned with a vengeance at the end of 2017 , releasing her sixth album reputation . The once bubbly pop singer traded her red lipstick for black, opting for snake skin leather and fish nets over tassels and sequins.

• A dramatic flip from the dark and edgy reputation , Swift released Lover , her seventh album, in 2019 . Full of pastel colors, sparkles, and upbeat tunes, the era was reminiscent of her previous years before the West drama. The album became 2019’s best-selling studio album and was the first album Swift owned the masters to.

• When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2019, Swift’s Lover festival and media plans were canceled. To cope with isolation and quarantine, Swift released her eighth and ninth albums, folklore and evermore , back-to-back in 2020 . These sister eras were Swift’s introduction to an alternative sound and were all about cottagecore aesthetics and escapism.

• The most recent era is Swift’s tenth album Midnights . The album dropped near the end of 2022 , with the entire album topping the charts and becoming the best-selling album of the year. The premise: thoughts that keep you up at night. With Midnights , Swift returned to writing autobiographical songs, highlighting snippets of her life from across her career. Fans have reveled in the new sound, 1970s-inspired aesthetic, and Swift’s new empowerment.