Taylor Swift, a multi-platinum, Grammy award-winning recording artist, is known for narrative songs about her personal life and has become one of the world’s leading contemporary recording artists.
Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Swift started writing music at age 11 with a focus on lyrics that paralleled the poetry of her distant cousin Emily Dickinson. She began performing at local events, including talent contests and school fundraisers before moving to Nashville, Tennessee with her family at age 14. After a showcase performance at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, she caught the attention of Scott Borchetta, the CEO of Big Machine Records, who signed her as his youngest artist.
Her 2006 self-titled debut album was a success, reaching No. 3 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Her second album, Fearless (2008), followed in the same vein and became her first No. 1 release, propelling her into the pop arena. It was during this time that she made her biggest commercial leap, embracing a more mature sound and taking on a more complex, often angsty style of songwriting.
Swift continued her evolution with RED (2012), an album that blended genres and introduced new collaborators such as Max Martin and Shellback (who would go on to be some of her most frequent producers) as well as Nathan Chapman and Liz Rose, her co-writers since her early days. The album was a critical and commercial smash, reaching number 1 in the US and becoming the highest-grossing country tour of all time.
The album spawned five top-ten singles, including “Reputation”, which reached the top of Billboard’s Hot 100, making her the youngest female artist ever to achieve such a feat. It was also the best-selling album of the year in both the United States and Canada, resulting in Taylor becoming the youngest person to win Album of the Year in two different categories.
After a multi-year hiatus, Swift returned with her seventh studio album, Lover (2018), which featured a slicker sound and some of her most politically charged songs to date. She remained on Republic Records until 2022, when she moved to Apple Music and released the ruminative folk albums folklore and evermore, which were praised for their ability to capture the national mood during the COVID-19 lockdown.
In her spare time, Swift is a philanthropist and has donated millions of dollars to schools across the United States. She is the founder of her own charity, the Taylor Swift Foundation, which works to support young women in the arts and education. She has also been a vocal advocate for gender equality and sexual assault awareness.
As she enters her 30s, Swift continues to captivate the world with her musical talent and unabashedly honest storytelling. Whether she’s singing about heartache or triumph, her music continues to resonate with her devoted fanbase and beyond. Her most popular hits are ranked below, with the highest-ranked songs appearing first. The rankings are based on weekly Billboard Hot 100 data from the past seven years (through Dec. 14, 2024).
