reputation | Taylor Swift's misunderstood masterpiece 

Yes, I know Red exists. I explained myself. Comment your fave track here.

I’m still furious that I Did Something Bad and Getaway Car never got a music video.

Taylor has always been the queen of bridges. People don't exaggerate when they say "taylor swift is the music industry". She really impacted the 2010s.

The whole “snake” thing is what REALLY drew me to her. Her branding was SUBLIME and it’s what really made me think this woman has got A LOT hidden up her sleeve! 😻

now that it's been a few years since Reputation first dropped I feel like more people are waking up and realizing how great this album actually is, myself included

Am I the only one who fell in love with the entire album as soon as it dropped? 😍

Furious that don’t blame me is so criminally underrated

I am waiting so patiently for Reputation (Taylor's Version)

If LWYMMD wasn't the first single, her comeback wouldn't make sense!

I love reputation because an outsider's understanding of it almost functions like a reputation. It has a reputation of being her "vengeful" album, her snake era when in fact if you listen to it its this beautiful love story, Taylor falling in love with someone who truly cares about her and not her repuation and then finding herself along the way. Reputation has no bonus tracks because it functions as a complete story-listening to reputation is like going on a journey through Taylor's last six months of 2016 and its a cathartic journey of healing as much as anything else. It draws a lot of comparisons to Lorde's Melodrama partially because of Jack Antonoff but also it brings the listener along on the same emotional highs and lows as Melodrama does - its a story in three acts - the first dealing with Taylor's break down of her reputation (Ready for It-Don't Blame Me) the second act dealing with how she copes with that break down (Delicate-Getaway Car) and the third act is her and Joe Alwyn's love story in the shadow of her broken reputation (King of My Heart-Call It What You Want). New Years Day is musically very different from the rest of the album and acts almost as an epilogue to the rest of the story, a promise that they might live happily ever after. I really wish Taylor would do more concept albums along the same lines as reputation, it would be interesting to see her try to tell another whole cohesive story in an album but in the musical style of folklore and evermore. But reputation is so underrated and I agree that it remains her best and most personal album to date.

fun fact: reputation is actually more experimental (for taylor) than folklore and evermore

I am embarrassed to say that, as someone who grew up on country Taylor, I jumped on the bandwaggon of hating on her “new style” when Rep dropped. I realized my mistake about 2 years ago when I actually sat down to listen to the album in whole. Such good stuff.

call it what you want is probably her most underrated song tbh

New Years day amazes me because its the song about the life after the party. this strictly piano song after these party beats and amazing, exciting, pop songs. Will you love me for me? Will you love me with just me and you in the taxi ride home? Do you love me for who I am and not the show I am putting on.

Sad to say that I, a huge Taylor Swift fan snubbed this record upon release. I saw it as a phase and something she needed to get off her chest, and for some reason deemed that as a bad thing instantly. I regret that so much now. I’m loving this album more and more each day and it might become my fave of hers

reputation is my favorite album from her as well, and it was the first era i experienced as a fan

"it's like boom boom pow and wildest dreams had a child" i've never seen anyone describe ready for it so perfectly

I never understood why it was so hated, it was clear from the get-go the purpose of this album: to air out and address directly, in it's rawest form all the bad press surrounding Taylor. It was her speaking out after the year of silence. It was an experiment cuz it was supposed to be only a one-time thing. It was her basically burning her bridges so she can start a new path without the burdens dragging her down. Sure, there'd be ashes remaining, but those are easily blown away. And she accomplished what she set out to do with "reputation" with finesse.

she did not lie when she said “i am an architect im drawing up the plans” like bro tHE BRIDGES

I also feel that reputation is more authentic and personal than Lover, thanks I didn't find the word

Reputation has a lot of potential to be her biggest era, I got kinda dissapointed that she didn’t promoted it that much as soon as the tour was about to end but I understand now that she already saw the Scooter/BigMachine thing coming and she’s preparing for bigger things to achieve

Red is my favorite Taylor album but reputation is a close second. It doesn't get the love it deserves. Thank you for giving this record its flowers. It is her most cohesive work and has her best vocals ever.

For me, one of the most heart-breaking scenes in all of cinematic history is the scene in the "Miss Americana" documentary when she gets the news that Reputation didn't get any major nominations and she says "I just need to make a better album." I can barely imagine accomplishing something so beautiful and monumental and then thinking that you failed.

am I the only one who from the beginning always thought that look what you made me do is a good song and does it until now?

reputation is definitely my favorite album ever, and the one I've heard the most in my entire life. I hate when people say she's being fake on it, acting edgy, but she was on her worst moment on life, everyone hating on her, so she probably felt that darkness. Taylor is a songwriter and she writes every song she sings, how can she make a whole album with fake feelings? There's no way. She felt that.

Totally agree with your insight on So it goes. Swifties sleep on it. It is my most played reputation song.

When she re-record it, rep will finally get the hype and love it deserves

She had to make something dark, excessive, decadent, overblown, and indulgent like Reputation in order to let it all out and move on. I see Lover as the light appearing of that darkness. Taylor was playing a different kind of character on this album, and it was a crucial element to her musical and personal evolution. She needed that moment of catharsis

I’m glad I was too young to have Twitter and to fully understand why the internet hated Taylor swift back in 2016. Otherwise, I probably would’ve joined the hate bandwagon instead of still bopping to all her songs.

this album just showed how versatile of an artist taylor swift really was

People thought it's gonna be a full on revenge and calling out people album but in reality it was the album appreciating family, friends and fans who Truely love and trust her and who were there for her. It's actually really amazing how she took all the hate especially her snake symbol and turned it all around and took the narrative of her life like she was not gonna let media control her life anymore Truly a masterpiece and to me this album will always be my Number One🖤🖤

it is her best, you are right and you should say it

THIS ALBUM MADE ME DO A 180 WITH HER. I used to believe Kimye but starting with the LWYMMD video I slowly started to "switch sides", like her reclaiming the snake and everything I honestly believed her side of the story and I became a full fan when the album dropped. Then I saw the Netflix rep show and I fully became a full swiftie

“masterpiece”. the most fitting word for ms taylor swift

This album is super special to me. Small CW for mental health, suicide and abuse: I had survived being left by my fiancé for another person out of nowhere, one of my best friends betraying me and surviving several hospitalizations. I got kicked out of school the day I was released from the emergency psych ward and I had to move back home. I felt so low and didn’t really talk to anyone during that time. I had a lot of feelings, pain, anger and sadness. I know it’s kind of embarrassing to admit but when this album came out it really felt like it was for me. It was messy behind the scenes of its production, I related to the themes of betrayal and being hurt but getting up again. But the softer tracks really spoke to me too. I met and got close with a person who would later become my partner of 2 years now, and I remember listening to Gorgeous and Delicate as I found myself getting feelings for him. This album doesn’t get its dues but I’ll always have an incredibly soft spot for it. I get made fun of a lot being a grown adult who hangs around the punk scene for being a Swiftie, but idk her music is pretty special to me. Fun fact: me and my partner became official around the Lover era, as he helped me embrace a softer and more gentle side to myself 🥰 I really feel like I’ve grown and evolved along with these albums coming out and being the soundtrack for it. Thank you for this video, it just appeared in my suggested videos lol. I don’t see a lot of love for Reputation from the same people who came in praising Folklore last year, it really does feel like it’s this fanbase’s little treasure. ❤️❤️

it really is a grower. i'm not a swiftie but i listen to her music, especially her pop stuff. when i first listened to reputation, it's just an 'eh' album for me, but the more i listen to it, also watching reputation stadium tour and miss americana, i understand what she's trying to say. call it what you want is probably her most romantic song ever and i love it so much!

Honestly, reputation aged like fine wine. Reputation is like my hometown. I am still so vexed that so many people didn’t like it as much :/

Reputation is still one of my all time favorite albums. So underrated!!!

the only bad thing about reputation is that don’t blame me wasn’t a single - the reputation tour performance is literally PERFECTION

1989 came out my daughter's freshman year of high school. In spite of (or because of) being brilliant, beautiful, and a varsity athlete, she started getting dragged on social media as she gained the attention of older boys and an unearned reputation. 1989's giddy rise-above-it-ness was perfectly timed, as she discovered who her true friends were and learned hard lessons about the world. By the time reputation dropped, we were READY FOR IT. I vividly remember hearing those opening beats and losing our goddamn minds together, blasting it in the car and flipping two big middle fingers at everyone who tried to bring her down. She triumphed and held her head up, and these two albums were the soundtrack to her victory. "This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" laid the blame where it belonged and saluted her real friends (and her momma)--she (and Taylor) had finally Shaken It Off and achieved some freedom from the unearned reputation. I am so grateful for these two albums and Taylor Swift's courage and honesty. It is clear why there are so many Swifties worldwide. She tells the stories of all our lives, in some ways; and her music has carried many fans through the worst of times.

My favorite record off of this album is probably Delicate

What I find so sad is that nobody ever talks about Call It What You Want or Dancing With Our Hands Tied. These songs are truly so beautiful as they describe how it feels to fall in love, to be loved and to love someone while the whole world seems to hate you and the image she started to question who she was and if she wanted the life she was living anymore. In Miss Americana she explained that she always wanted to be a good girl and that she wanted to please everyone and I feel like in Call It What You Want she kind of broke free of that as she realized that it is enough to be loved by this one person even if the rest of the world seems to hate you. These are so meaningful, so beautiful and so emotional, I love it. These are some of the best songs in her entire career and I wish there was a music video for Dancing With Our Hands Tied.

After Folklore, Reputation is my favorite of her albums

Tbh I love every album by Taylor swift equally, they are beautiful, unique and all are different. Why? Because they were written by Taylor swift 😊

I started liking Taylor around 1989. Rep is hands down my favorite album of hers. I think Midnights is a close second now (I know it wasn't out at time of recording).

This album is pure euphoria

as a person whose all time favorite album from taylor swift is reputation, I appreciate this video so f**king much. I feel like the initial backlash over it was caused by the fact that she picked Look What You Made Me Do and Ready For It as the first two singles, which kinda focuses more on the snake-ish side of it, but at the same time, I also understand why she did it, because it's like peeling the layers of a fruit, the more you listen to reputation the more that you understand what it's about; it's less of a "revenge" or "comeback" as the general public tends to portray it as, and more about finding love in the midst of all the conflict. songs like Call It What You Want, Dancing With Our Hands Tied, and Delicate are probably some examples of that, and I think at least we got Delicate as a single. I have no idea why i'm writing this long comment, but really I guess i'm just hoping for more people to appreciate what a work of art this album was. p.s. miss taylor it's still not too late to release that getaway car music video

I've been a fan of Taylor since Fearless, which was weird for me because I was never really into country. Anyway, I remember loving red so so fucking much, and how 1989 came out just at the time I needed it. The ways it could lift me up when I was in the middle of a depressive episode was... priceless, to me. Almost nothing could get me to feel excited or happy or relaxed, but Taylor's music? Than never failed. I also love all her last albums (folklore is a damn masterpiece and evermore is flawless, I'll die on this hill) but reputation??? ohhhh reputation was it for me. I love that album with my entire soul. It never made sense to me when people misunderstood the entire concept, sometimes willingly, because the fragility and relatableness was right there to me and this is coming from someone that has never been in love. I'm in my late 20s, my aromantic ass can relate to Taylor's songs lmao. Dancing with our hands tied helped me through anxiety attacks juts because how much I could find myself in the feeling of it.

I have to hide my love for rep because a lot of people were hating it because "it wasn't the same Taylor" that they got used to. But, rep is Taylor's most vulnerable album to date. My fave tracks are: Endgame (it's a banger), Delicate (which is her most vulnerable song to date for me, aside from Soon You'll Get Better), Call It What You Want, Getaway Car, and New Year's Day. New Year's Day has the best ending song of any of her albums because you, with the person you love, can do the most mundane things together, such as, cleaning up the bottles, and it's fine because it'll be a memory you hold on to. That's how Taylor describes her love for Joe and I think it's beautiful.

new year’s day is definitely my favorite song off of rep just because it’s so intimate and you can truly understand what she’s saying. i feel like that song was a peak into what folklore and evermore would become

reputation is my favorite album and to me every song on the album it's just amazing. my favorite song is new year's day just because it's very nostalgic to me and idk i like it very much. also really great video, you said everything that needs to be said.

Reputation is the album that made me a fan of her. I've heard the popular songs from 1989 (shake it off, blank space, style) before rep but these songs didn't make me want to listen to the rest of her discography. But when reputation came, I was amazed, after all she's been through with the media and the haters, this album was such a good comeback and I actually think that LWYMMD is a good first single, after listening to the full album you can really appreciate how it is a love letter to Joe, her fans and herself (being really authentic). This was the album that really introduced me to her and I'm really thankful for that, that's why this is my favorite TS album. Edit: I hate that rep (Taylor's version) will only come in 2022 and that it will be the last re-recorded album, but I'm also excited to experience the re-release of the firsts albums lol

Leading up to reputation was when i became a hardcore swiftie, and i just fell more and more in love

it was great to hear taylor with some dope 808s on ready for it as the album opener. the drums are truly truly excellent throughout the entire album. I also want to add, no troll, that I think ye and taylor should make a track.

Don't blame me and Dress deserves more attenttion. Dress is one of the most underrated ones. That brigde!!!! Godly. And I believe in DWOHT supremacy. It's also really underrated.

Reputation is my favourite pop album from Taylor. It's an album of absolute bangers.

I love the “Delicate” music video so much!!

Fuck this album is so iconic

Reputation was what made me a fan. I had listened to her hits and enjoyed them, I liked 1989 and some of Red when they came out, but I was a casual listener until Rep. It blew me away. It’s not only my favorite album of hers, it’s easily one of my top 3 favorite albums of all time. I love the bad bitch energy, and I love the softness of the second half. It was a phenomenal comeback and I’m so glad people are starting to recognize it for the experimental masterpiece that it is. I cannot wait for Taylor’s Version to come out and for this to get the recognition it deserves. Enjoyed your album essay! I really like listening to people’s breakdowns, it helps me to articulate my own thoughts and find new things to appreciate. 😊

I LOVE call it what you want!! And you just blew right past it lol.

This is an amazing video, i love listening to people praise reputation, it’s a literal movie

People just thinks it’s bad cause before the album dropped, she released LWYMMD as the lead single and everyone dismissed it as petty and full of drama album, but it is so much more than that, it’s literally full of love songs, it’s just the way it was presented that made it look bad especially if you don’t keep up with Taylor’s personal life, you wouldn’t get the references in the album. But her team kind of messed up in keeping the momentum going by taking too long to release follow up singles, and of course reputation not being available to streaming services for 1 whole month. They should’ve dropped the RFI video the same week it was released, and endgame should have been released before the album came out to generate streams then followed up by IDSB, DBM & GC.

Lol just seeing this two years later.. I guess you can amend this because Taylor’s era tour definitely topped the reputation tour

Reputation was my favorite T.S. album right from my first listen. I really don't understand why it's so underrated. So. Many. Bangers!

I found your initial response to the album really interesting because I related so much to rep from the second it dropped. It really connected with where I was at in my life at that moment, the contrast between that more dramatic and glamorous lifestyle and relationship that I'd just stepped away from and the new, more quieter relationship I was now in that I really wanted to work out. (Somehow ever since her first album Taylor has always managed to write the perfect album for each part of my life.) Also thank you for providing justice for So It Goes..., one of my favorite songs on the album that needs way more recognition.

I remember when I used to hate her and I don’t even know why I did. It was like I was brainwashed bc I didn’t have any argument to prove why I hated her, no reason at all. I’m glad I learnt my mistakes

My all time fav from rep is prob I Did Something Bad & sometimes I wish it would've been the lead. I think it's the only other song on the album that could've worked besides LWYMMD

Glad "So It Goes" got a shoutout and had to pause the video just to comment! I remember a few years ago a newer friend and I bonding over our love of this album and at the time talking about it as performance art - which I still stand by - but yes I love how clearly you go into her processing and sharing some of the things she learned from her.... I'll call it public love/topple from perfection. "Delicate" is such a fave, and I remember finally falling in with "New Years Day" and really feeling it. I love seeing what she did with what she learned about herself/her relationship with the world and how that translated into her music. It's a huge part of the hesitancy/early days/private nerves/tenderness too that have always made "Call It What You Want" and "Dress" some faves. "NYD" is I feel like dare I say a predecessor to the song "Lover" - I'm thinking of "This is our place/we make the rules" // "Can I go where you go/Will we always be this close?" Makes me want to watch the live concert tonight! Thanks for the video.

Everyday I realice I am a little more of a REP Stan and I can’t wait for the re-release so I can listen to it peacefully.

Great video! I love this album and still listen to it all the time. My takeaway from New Years Eve is that she wants more than just the highs of partying at midnight on New Year’s Eve, but the ride home and cleaning up the next day, etc. In other words, the long haul. Anyway….thank you for making this video and god bless…❤

Finally, another "So It Goes" stan! I really liked this song from the moment I heard it, but I understand why it doesn't click with most people. It describes an extremely intimate moment between two people. In my head, it evokes the image of making love in slow motion, and having this epiphany, almost religious experience, of a love that runs so deep that the whole world just fades away around you.

AHHHH I've been waiting for U to talk about Ms. Swiffer

This is my favorite album so I cannot wait 2023 to see how she's gonna re-record it . Perhaps we will get a bonus track or two from the vault.

12 year old me was absolutely IN LOVE with reputation

Reputation is definitely her best era. So much dgaf attitude, the concepts, the commentary on media all wrapped up in amazing beats and her foray into rap was legendary. There will never be another Reputation

new year’s day is such a good closer, a beautiful transition into Lover!

AYO FACTS I STAN *SO IT GOES* AND *KING OF MY HEART* BUT THEY ARE THE MOST UNDERRATED

dancing with our hands tied is hands down my favorite. i think it used to be new years day. the other two faves are definitely call it what you want and king of my heart but it is truly a no skip album

agree 100% damnnn I've been thinking about this for soooo long

Thank you for making this video. I think I’ve watched it twice. You do such an excellent job of describing how spectacular this record is. I have a hard time narrowing down my favorite album (because my mood matters) but it’s always a tie between Reputation & Red with Speak Now very close behind.

What a great video! thanks for sharing

I’ve just recently delved into TS and I cannot get enough of this album! I love how insane the productions are on them. They just have so many different sounds.

This is my favourite Taylor Swift Album. I love all of the songs on this album. Cannot wait for Taylor’s Version. Also, watching this video during Eras Tour and oh boy did she top the Reputation Era by a huge margin!

I might have been 10 but I DEFINITELY remember the SNAKE era. That shit was crazy and I STILL loved her. She left. She returned. And made one of my favorite albums ever. I think I was in 7th grade when Look What You Made Me Do came out, it played at my middle schools Halloween dance and EVER SINGLE KID (guy or girl) was SCREAMING the lyrics. Every song in the album was good.

when rep dropped i was about 8 and i loved end game, ready for it, lwymmd, gorgeous and delicate, but didn't listen to the other songs on the album. fast forward to 2021- i listened to rep in full and loved it so much.

I like your essay. My fave rep tracks are 1. new years day 2. endgame 3. ready for it. My thinking about this album changed too. I think we are true when we are most vulnerable. My favorite is lover but rep is a close close second. This album--everything about it--is insanely good.

I love this video. You're so correct about Reputation.

I really liked Reputation when it came out but it has since become my favorite album of hers, I love it so much and listen to it all the time

0:10 she won her second grammy for album of the year, this was her 10th grammy overall. Great work though!! Reputation is a cultural reset, you did the album justice

YES! YES! Finally somebody acknowledged the album as the magnum opus that it is. Thank you!

Enjoyed the video a lot! :p My favorite by Taylor by farrrrrr. Dancing with our hands tied is just to good!

when reputation came out, i heared LWYMD and i hated and i thought, maybe i've outgrown Taylor and then a few months later i finally listened to the album and cried the whole time bc i was going through so much anxiety and paranoid and thinking the whole world was against me. it quickly became one of my favorite albums and it wasn't until recently, when i got in a relationship, that i realized it's really a love story. taylor has a strange way of understanding my life and releasing songs that i need at the perfect times! (red and rep are also my favorites along with folklore!) also i hope rep (taylor's version) has an acoustic king of my heart version bc that video made me fall in love with the song

When I first listened to Reputation in 2017, a lot of what she went through, I could resonate with as similar situations were happening to me. My Reputation took a dive due to lies others spread, and this record felt like it spoke about my situations. With all 10 albums she has released by now, Reputation always stands out for me. At first it sounds like she was trying to be edgy, but as the album progresses you actually see that it is a big love letter to Joe standing by her side even when the world hated her. Only skipable track for me is mostly End game, but when the mood is right I'll give it a listen.

I LOVE LOVE “So it Goes”

Reputation is my second favorite album musically (first is debut) but emotionally reputation is at the top. That came out when I started high school and my mental health was at an all time low and it was my first concert I felt truly free listening to this album and it always holds a special place in my heart

Endgame was one of my favorite tracks on this record! Honestly, Taylor is a great songwriter. She just manages to reinvent her music every album.

This album made me fall in love with her, after riding the “I don’t like her” bandwagon for so long… and now I play her music every day!

I actually didn't listen a lot to Taylor Swift before Reputation. Like yeah, of course I listened her most famous once and unpopular opinion I knew you were trouble have a special place in my heart. But after Look what you made me do came out as a single I was like damn finally. I listened a lot to Speak Now but Reputation was like almost the first whole Taylor Swift album I listened to. I favs are probably I did something bad, getaway car and call it what you want. They reallly resonated with me and I'll be mad that reputation isn't seen as the best by most people. Maybe I just really needed it at that time in my life I don't know but it really is my fav

Red, 1989 and Reputation are her best albums. You can't change my mind.

After doind a lot of fathoming, I guess I can say this is my favorite album! 🖤 The feeling I get when I play it is just impossible to describe.