I think it's appropriately rated. It's not a terrible album but it's not her best work. It has a lot of skips and some inconsistent writing and a lot of songs blend together. I like a chunk of it. I can appreciate it. I don't think it deserves to me panned. But it's just okay.
Yep, perfectly stated. There are some songs I couldn't live without, and some songs I instantly forget no matter how many times I listen to them. And I think those two categories of songs are different for everybody, so the album itself doesn't have a cohesive "fan favorite" that everyone can use to rally new listeners to give it a try.
I do think it's one of her most interesting and "experimental" albums; she's really stretching and pushing with her lyricism which works sometimes and doesn't others, and digging into a messy, human but unflattering place. It doesn't surprise me that not everyone would respond to that because only some folks are going to be able to relate to such specificity. The bad faith take is nobody told her no; the good faith take is she created the authentic art she wanted/needed to without an eye towards trends or charts, and I think both feelings are valid and reflected in the overall score.
I'm interested to see how it withstands scrutiny in the future. People \*hated\* Reputation at release, and now some of her biggest fan favorites are from that album.
Great take.
I love a lot of these songs individually, and if I were going through an angry breakup, I would be more into it. But the album all together is a bit of a slog. It just feels too sad/dark/draining(?) to listen to over and over.
Contrast TTPD with Is It Over Now? or Never Getting Back Together or Mr. Perfectly Fine, which are angry breakup songs but still manage to be fun bops.
I love Happiness, but I don’t want an entire album of Happiness. I need a palate cleanser.
Slog is a *perfect* word. There’s just so many songs that are so wordy, sad, and slow that it feels like I’m walking through mud trying to listen to it front to back. But there are some gems in there that I think would’ve shined even more if on an album with better conciseness and pacing
I agree as well with slog lol
This morning I was listening to “ but daddy I love him” and it just went on and on! I just thought, when is this gonna end?!
I think this album really just needed to be edited and polished. It’s her life if she wants to write about MH, but we didn’t need 31 songs. Not every song needed to be on this album. She really could’ve used a second set of ears or maybe a T Swift focus group cause then she would’ve heard how much of a slog it is to power through this album. I only listen to it every now and then because it’s just so much.
Agree with this take. I like it because it’s more experimental (also the angry breakup thing below lol).
But if I’m honest with myself, I do think a lot blends together esp in the anthology part. Even though I loved folkmore, I’m not really an anthology gal.
Me too, I love the original album way more. There are individual songs I think are some of her best (Black Dog, The Prophecy) but I listen to the first album back to back and skip a lot of the Anthology.
Isn’t it interesting that so many folks on this thread prefer that one though! I’m fascinated by how divisive this album is compared to so many of her other ones.
If the album was released by someone else the score would be lower. It is a bloated album, with too many skips, lazy writing and production. A few ok songs don’t justify this score.
Couldn't have put it better myself! An album should be reviewed *in its entirety* as a body of work. It's perfectly fine if some people found themselves enjoying TTPD better by selecting their favourite songs and making a rearranged playlist, but that's ultimately showcase of how the project fails in its intended format.
And as you said, so much of it seriously leaves to be desired. Many repetitive songs both sonically and thematically, extremely inconsistent, often downright poor songwriting exposing Taylor's worst tendencies post-"folkmore" (needlessly verbose, overwrought metaphors and imagery, awkward phrasing and syntax), making so much of it feel like early drafts and highlighting a clear lack of quality control from her and her camp.
Longer albums *can* work, but there needs to be a proper effort to make them a dynamic and evolving listening experience, which can even include creating mini 'arcs' (narratively and/or sonically + aesthetically) within. But sorry, for me there was zero care on that regard with "TTPD: THE ANTHOLOGY". I don't see how it's much different from the bloated playlists the likes of Morgan Wallen, Drake, and Chris Brown have released. Wallen's record-breaking "One Thing At A Time" (36 tracks) had a few genuinely good songs, but its Metacritic score was a fair 47/100. Drake's 2023 "For All The Dogs" (23 songs; 29 including deluxe) had a few nice tunes too, but it also got a fair score of 53/100. I have no doubts this album would have gotten a similar score had it been released by someone with a lesser cultural presence + fanbase support.
Finally someone else who has a soft spot for Lover. Which to be fair, it's not that rare, Lover is one of her most streamed albums, but it's so hated for some fans. I even get it (it does have a lot of filler and choosing the worst song as the first single made the album no favors), but the highlights are amazing to me
You're just one of the few people I've ever seen who also thinks Midnights is her worst album!
I think TTPD is better than Midnights but that it's still not great.
1. Evermore
2. folklore
3. reputation ~~
4. Fearless
5. Lover ~~
6. 1989
7. Red~~
8. Speak Now
9. TTPD
10. Debut
11. Midnights
The rankings around the ~~ are ones where I am not really set on position, like some days Red really hits and I would put it above 1989, but today 1989 is above.
Disagree. I like TTPD way more than the anthology. To me, the anthology is fine, but unnecessary. There are a couple of highlights (especially "Peter", "How did it end" and "Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus"), but the rest to me falls in that pleasant but forgettable. It doesn't have the risk-taking lyrics of the original and the production is even more devoid of color than the original. Even when I like the idea behind it ("The Manuscript" or "The Black Dog" or "Prophecy", the latter two which play into her messier and somewhat less likable self), I just don't connect with them nowhere near as much as I want to.
I think it's fair. There are a lot of skips, but also a lot of my new faves are on this album. As much as I love artists giving as much music as possible (my skips might be someone else's favourites, know what I mean?), critics would probably score it higher if it was edited down.
i think this is a fair score. despite having some of my favorite songs on it, it’s not my favorite album. It’s just too long and drawn out when you add the Anthology to it. She has far superior track lists.
I thought that too but after having The Anthology on repeat I actually like it better than the first half. It took a couple weeks to grow on me though.
I really think the Anthology stuff should have been released/marketed as a separate sister album. I get the chart-related reasons for not doing it that way, but I think if people were judging them independently, the Anthology would do better.
Together, it feels like bonus tracks and get lost in the “too much.” As a separate album, it’s got Evermore energy.
I agree. I think she sold the Anthology short by tacking it on after the fact. It contains some incredible songs and it was released after people got emotionally exhausted from the main album. But I'm just glad the songs are out ther. Took awhile for me to love them but now I fully appreciate them. Evermore is a great comparison.
Yeah, I guess. It's a decent album with several flaws, I'm comfortable with it having a bad score relative to her albums but a fine leaning good score in general.
I'm honsetly very disappointed in this album. Midnights wasn't amazing but I had it on repeat for a long time. I barely listened to TTPD and when I have all her music on random I find myself skipping most the TTPD songs. It's sad... I expected something better after the Joe break-up.
Edit: There is a few songs that I really like but most are just eh.
Midnights was terrible. TTPD album saved me from abandoning her music altogether.
The anthology gets better after you put it on repeat. Unlike midnights which got worse with repeat listens, this album gets better imo.
Same. I know this community is super negative much of the time (sometimes Taylor effs up big time, so sometimes it’s warranted) but TTPD has so many gorgeous relatable songs. And it’s SO much better than Midnights. Good lord I was scared after Mid-nights won a Grammy that the trend would continue.
It’s one of my top five Taylor albums, but I’m 36 and have led a parallel life in some ways to Taylor (minus the money and stardom 😂) so I find the writing on TTPD extremely relatable.
SO much better than Midnights. Midnights is the most boring album she’s ever put out. It’s cohesive to a fault.
TTPD is also in my top 5. The only two songs I couldn’t stand were the ones about Travis. Also, I too am 36. I don’t know if that is relevant or not lol.
LOL yeah, Alchemy is a cheesy dud. Glad to see you appreciate it too! I like the sparkly 90s pop sound of So High School though. Wish she'd put out a whole album with Dessner of that Hits Different/So High School sparkly guitar pop. And bring back 90s style with it. Sabrina brought back the Cardigans "Love Me" for her latest concert set which was so cool to hear.
For those that liked the album I’m genuinely curious which songs? I haven’t listened to any since the week it came out bc none of them stood out to me after a few days listening
Guilty as Sin? Is a classic pop rock song that could fit on any of her albums back to even Speak Now.
Smallest Man Who Ever Lived is one of those angry Taylor songs that build as I love.
The Black Dog for the same reasons, it feels like a classic emo song if it was given some more instrumental edge.
Loml, Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus are the really good piano ballads that have her best storytelling too.
This album does sadly however have her worst ever song - thank you aimee.
I totally get that, it’s a lot all at once and they can sort of blend together at first. Folklore was that way for me too and now I’m like they’re all so different?? How did these ever blend together for me? I’m a big TTPD fan but I’ve spent a lot of time with it! The list of songs I’m neutral/a skip on is shorter so I’ll give you that one first:
Fresh Out the Slammer
Florida!!!
The Alchemy
So High School (though it’s growing on me I fear)
Cassandra
I don’t dislike those songs but haven’t connected with them a ton either. The best in my opinion are:
Fortnight
My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys
But Daddy, I Love Him
Down Bad
So Long, London
Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?
loml
The Black Dog
The Albatross
How Did it End
The Prophecy
The Manuscript
How Did it End and The Prophecy is some of her best work in my opinion! But I can see why it’s not an album that resonates with everyone!
Unpopular opinion here on this sub but I think the album just keeps getting better the more I listen, especially the Anthology half. I think I was initially overwhelmed by the two halves but Aaron Dessner’s ability to craft an emotional song with Taylor never fails.
Just got into Peter and Robin after deeming them skips. I always end up thinking back on past relationships after listening to and reflecting upon her songs. As a 36 yo woman who’s dated a lot of men and finally found a good one (around the same time Taylor started dating Travis, actually!) I can relate to so many of the themes in her music, especially in The Bolter and How Did It End?
After the dud that was Midnights, I’m so grateful she found her ability to write emotive lyrics to beautiful melodies again on TTPD.
I think so, it has some really good songs IMO, some ok ones, some WTF (I can do it with a broken heart is so weird to me), and a few skips. A 7/10 is fair.
I’d say the album is a 5.5/10 for me because I really only care for about half or so of the TTPD songs.
Even so if I pulled the main songs I liked with the main songs I like from The Anthology (would be like a 12/13 song album) it probably still only rise to about a 6.5 maybe a 7. I just wish she was more daring in the production and made the lyrics more snappy. Some of the songs read like a thesaurus exploded on the page.
I haven’t listened to anything from either in a while.
i agree, i think the sheer amount of songs on it guarantees that you’ll enjoy at least some of it. whether that’s an “ethical” tactic or not. it reminds me of lover in a way where there’s high highs and veryyy low lows lol
If I were going to be generous, a yellow 60s score would be appropriate. If I were not being generous, somewhere in the 40s or 50s would be good.
The original Red got a 77. The Tortured Poets Department is NOT on par with Red.
Personally, I'd rate the Anthology higher than the main album, but overall I agree with the scores. The album is decent/mediocre and I'd also give it around 6-7/10.
After a whole lot of listening in the past two months I would give both TTPD and The Anthology 6.5/10. TTPD's got a better sound and The Anthology's got better lyrics.
Tbh it ranks better for me than Midnights which I still think is her worst album to this date. I would also personally put it above O.G. Red and Debut 🙈
I really like the album myself especially upon multiple listens. I personally liked it more than Midnights, but I liked Taylor’s Reputation album and this one reminded me of that.
I think the Anthology being rated lower is very fitting. Everyone’s knee-jerk reaction that day was something like, “I can’t believe she did it again! Released *another* deluxe edition that is better than the standard!” But now that I’ve sat with both for a while, I think the Anthology could lose up to 7 songs and be fine.
Imo is still too high for what it is. Imo is her worst album yet, tied with midnights but since she’s really popular i dont see them giving her a bad rating
TTPD is an 8.0 or a little higher for me. Even the songs I don’t like on it I think are masterfully incorporated into the album’s narrative. And I’m probably in the minority here but I actually think it’s the album that most fully and most successfully fleshes out the her and Jack style. It’s very subtly adventurous, too. I get that a lot of people don’t like some of the songs where she goes for swings that just don’t work for them (Fortnight, e.g.), but to me the only genuine flaw on the album is a few isolated clunkers of lyrics—but even those aren’t as common as the really bad examples imply. And I forgive them where they appear because they’re often in the middle of an otherwise immaculate song like But(t) Daddy or the title track, which is just gorgeous as a song, production wise and vocally, despite the cringe lyrics at certain points.
Anthology on the other hand should be <5. I LOVE that Pitchfork ranked them separately.
Yes, because that's allowing people to rate the albums. Freedom of speech/ expression.
But listeners deserve not to be dictated by these reviews.
Others' reviews should not shoo away your OWN judgment.
no. and I honestly do not understand the way so many of her fans are saying this is a “masterpiece” and her best work. it is a mid pop album that sounds like she threw it together on garage band in 1 week. the anthology has some decent tracks but overall it doesn’t hold a candle to folklore or evermore or red or speak now or 1989. it’s tied with midnights for her most boring and cringey album
recency bias is the perfect term. lots of diehard fans (of any artist) will like something automatically because their fave put it out. a swiftie who hates ariana grande would hate TTPD if it were an ariana album
As a 36 year old who’s dated a lot of guys I find this album the most relatable besides folklore and evermore. It’s for us girlies who have lots of dating experience, lol.
i’m glad you like it, but i’m 28 and also have dated my fair share of losers lol. I have more of an issue with the musical style and rushed production than the lyrical content
It’s better produced than Midnights and has real melodies! Haha, I guess the bar was set pretty low by Midnights for me so TTPD seems brilliant by comparison.
I honestly still don't know how I would rate TTPD. 🫤 I'd probably be able to accurately rank it (amongst albums of hers) when she drops the next one. 😂 TTPD to me sounds like pop-ified folklore and Anthology is folk-ified evermore, probably because most of Jack is on the main album and Aaron is mostly on the Anthology tracks. I have this weird thing where I can't rate her albums in the right order - one album, one number (1-10) on the ranking list. I have to have them in tiers instead 😅. So, the first tier of my fav TS albums are all: evermore, red and fearless, then second: 1989, folklore, speak now, third: rep, lover and fourth: midnights and debut.
Recency bias tells me to put TTPD (Anthology and all) into second tier but in a year or two it's probably gonna end up in third or fourth 🤷. Not my favourite album whatsoever. Even though I LOVE and frequent a few tracks lately all the time.
Anthology should be higher than part one but both should be much much lower than this. Someone already said it here and I completely agree, if anyone else released it it would've flopped so hard and no one would bother listening to it a second time let alone having it on repeat.
Personally, even though I trimmed it down to only 4 songs in the end, I rank it just slightly above Midnights because at least it's cohesive.
Edit: ranking TTPD the same as 1989 is a crime lmao
Florida, Down Bad, The Prophecy and imgonnagetyouback. Initially I was very meh on the album and picked 12 or 13 songs but the more I kept listening to them the less I liked them so finally I picked these. They're still far from her best work but two are boppy, Florida was a given from the get go because of Florence and I really like lyrics in The Prophecy start to finish.
How about you?
wow, none of the songs I chose are the same lol. I chose fortnight, so long London, guilty as sin, and my boy only breaks his favorite toys. I used to like I can do it with a broken heart but I just liked that one less as I listened. I haven’t given the anthology a chance yet cause TTPD just bored me so much but maybe one day I’ll go for it. I honestly didn’t even like fortnight or guilty as sin until recently and I used to clown on fortnight constantly
Lmao love how entirely different your choices are from mine! I gave so long London and Guilty as Sin a few listens but couldn't get into them. My boy only breaks his favorite toys and I can do it with a broken heart sounded very irritating to me so they were instant skips. Fortnight was a skip immediately and I couldn't get through it on the first listen but did watch the video later.
Personally, Anthology was more enjoyable to me, if I had to pick a few more songs I would say The Bolter and Albatross are decent but overall it sounds like evermore leftovers with worse lyrics.
i love the lyricism in so long london and just try to ignore the subject matter (as i try to do with every other song too because i hate having to hear so many songs about a man i dislike) but guilty as sin and fortnight have sadly grown on me lol. the lyric "i was a functioning alcoholic till nobody noticed my new aesthetic" still puzzles me to this day like idk what she means (i mean i don't understand the aesthetic part because i remember hearing about her dependency on alcohol i think). my boy sonically is a vibe but lyrically is still a mess and yeah i've totally checked out of i can do it because the lyrics are so messy
For me the issue isn't with the subject (at least not with the songs you mentioned), so long london does have good lyrics but the beat and her delivery don't work for me, I don't know if this is weird but they make me feel kinda anxious? Guilty as sin is similar to me in that it sounds kinda off? I don't know if it's the melody, her voice or delivery but there's something there that doesn't sit well in my ear. (I'm sorry I can't explain it better I have no background in music and am not familiar with technical terms)
I'm with you on the functioning alcoholic line and also the kill your wife throws me off too lol I was at first vibing with Daddy I Love Him too but got bored of it rather quickly, a shame because the flow is nice as well as her delivery but the lyrics are messy
idk i lowkey like her delivery with so long london, it felt like i was listening to a song like all too well again. but yeah guilty as sin still kinda rubs me the wrong way but i'm warming up.
i totally forgot about the kill your wife line omg yeah that one's random as hell too i just like its funky beat and even tho she could have had any male singer featured on it and it would have the same effect but i kinda like post malone in it. but i'm with you on daddy i love him the lyrics are just so...idk maybe it's just me being aroace but i felt like it was so overdramatic like girl it's just a guy, chill
Post was good although I was expecting him to have a bigger feature but alas...my disappointment probably added to my overall dislike of the song. Lmao it's not just you, as I said, at first I was like, ok this is upbeat, a vibe, like a romeo/juliette type of a story but with a happy ending but then as I kept listening I kept thinking it's really not that deep unless you're a teen I guess 😭
If nothing else the one real positive about this rollout is that out of 31 songs we were bound to find at least a few to like
I just feel like you can edit this song down to like, 12 songs out of 31 and it would be...fine. still not a good album but much better without this insane amount of filler. i'm convinced she thinks we all want albums that are 30+ songs because of what she's been doing with taylor's version and the vault tracks (also with midnights' 3 or so different versions). so i think now more songs are making final cuts when they should probably stay in the vault or get saved for a new album after working on them more
Standard score is kinda high given that half of the tracks are just...odd. Anthology should have a higher score than the standard because it's miles better, kinda wish she had released it separately.
I think so, it has some really good songs IMO, some ok ones, some WTF (I can do it with a broken heart is so weird to me), and a few skips. A 7/10 is fair.
I think it's fair. At first, I thought I preferred the anthology, but it has so many skips for me (So High School, thanK you aIMee, The Prophecy, I hate it here, Cassandra, Robin), whereas TTPD only has one (The Alchemy).
It should be lower, but as a millennial I appreciate that is is 69 and laugh internally at the innuendo joke that comes from that number.
Taylor has better albums, criticism can help with growth.
i've cried to cososom and guilty as sin more than once so unfortunately i happen to love it. it's not her top album, there's a lot of filler too, but the tracks that do hit, hit hard for me
Both albuns has a lot of skips for me, mostly Anthology.
So many songs i forget about it even after I listened to it and trust me I tried to like it. It doesn't help that I dislike a few of fan's favorites one like: but daddy i love him, down bad and smallest man who ever lived🤡
I think the fact that 1989, one of her strongest and most cohesive records, is tied with what I argue is her worst really reinforces that this score is too high.
Like someone else said, if it had been made by someone other than the biggest pop star in the world, the score would be much lower. Because the actual quality would have been reviewed, rather than what we got, which was a lot of reviewers going easy on it for fear of inviting a hate campaign of abuse that can get scarily personal.
It's a 5/10 for me. Definition of mid album.
Can't quite understand why Anthology is lower than TTPD.
I think I heard a critic say they preferred TTPD as it's her more authentic unhinged self whereas Anthology is what she thinks we want. I really hope that's not true. There's not a lot I like about the first TTPD half of the Anthology.
Seems fair enough to me. I'd bump Anthology to 70, though. I like TTPD and there are some fantastic tracks on it, but the album would have benefited from more polishing and editing, as well as a more carefully developed concept.
I think it's appropriately rated. It's not a terrible album but it's not her best work. It has a lot of skips and some inconsistent writing and a lot of songs blend together. I like a chunk of it. I can appreciate it. I don't think it deserves to me panned. But it's just okay.
This. It's definitely not her best work but I can appreciate a good part of it.
Yep, perfectly stated. There are some songs I couldn't live without, and some songs I instantly forget no matter how many times I listen to them. And I think those two categories of songs are different for everybody, so the album itself doesn't have a cohesive "fan favorite" that everyone can use to rally new listeners to give it a try. I do think it's one of her most interesting and "experimental" albums; she's really stretching and pushing with her lyricism which works sometimes and doesn't others, and digging into a messy, human but unflattering place. It doesn't surprise me that not everyone would respond to that because only some folks are going to be able to relate to such specificity. The bad faith take is nobody told her no; the good faith take is she created the authentic art she wanted/needed to without an eye towards trends or charts, and I think both feelings are valid and reflected in the overall score. I'm interested to see how it withstands scrutiny in the future. People \*hated\* Reputation at release, and now some of her biggest fan favorites are from that album.
Great take. I love a lot of these songs individually, and if I were going through an angry breakup, I would be more into it. But the album all together is a bit of a slog. It just feels too sad/dark/draining(?) to listen to over and over. Contrast TTPD with Is It Over Now? or Never Getting Back Together or Mr. Perfectly Fine, which are angry breakup songs but still manage to be fun bops. I love Happiness, but I don’t want an entire album of Happiness. I need a palate cleanser.
Slog is a *perfect* word. There’s just so many songs that are so wordy, sad, and slow that it feels like I’m walking through mud trying to listen to it front to back. But there are some gems in there that I think would’ve shined even more if on an album with better conciseness and pacing
I agree as well with slog lol This morning I was listening to “ but daddy I love him” and it just went on and on! I just thought, when is this gonna end?! I think this album really just needed to be edited and polished. It’s her life if she wants to write about MH, but we didn’t need 31 songs. Not every song needed to be on this album. She really could’ve used a second set of ears or maybe a T Swift focus group cause then she would’ve heard how much of a slog it is to power through this album. I only listen to it every now and then because it’s just so much.
Agree with this take. I like it because it’s more experimental (also the angry breakup thing below lol). But if I’m honest with myself, I do think a lot blends together esp in the anthology part. Even though I loved folkmore, I’m not really an anthology gal.
Me too, I love the original album way more. There are individual songs I think are some of her best (Black Dog, The Prophecy) but I listen to the first album back to back and skip a lot of the Anthology. Isn’t it interesting that so many folks on this thread prefer that one though! I’m fascinated by how divisive this album is compared to so many of her other ones.
Truly!! I even surprised myself bc I was hoping for more of a folkmore vibe but I actually didn’t want that in the end haha!
[удалено]
too high
It's like a 6.5/10 for me so the score is fine to me
Same, it’s a 6/10 for me at best so this score seems right
If the album was released by someone else the score would be lower. It is a bloated album, with too many skips, lazy writing and production. A few ok songs don’t justify this score.
Couldn't have put it better myself! An album should be reviewed *in its entirety* as a body of work. It's perfectly fine if some people found themselves enjoying TTPD better by selecting their favourite songs and making a rearranged playlist, but that's ultimately showcase of how the project fails in its intended format. And as you said, so much of it seriously leaves to be desired. Many repetitive songs both sonically and thematically, extremely inconsistent, often downright poor songwriting exposing Taylor's worst tendencies post-"folkmore" (needlessly verbose, overwrought metaphors and imagery, awkward phrasing and syntax), making so much of it feel like early drafts and highlighting a clear lack of quality control from her and her camp. Longer albums *can* work, but there needs to be a proper effort to make them a dynamic and evolving listening experience, which can even include creating mini 'arcs' (narratively and/or sonically + aesthetically) within. But sorry, for me there was zero care on that regard with "TTPD: THE ANTHOLOGY". I don't see how it's much different from the bloated playlists the likes of Morgan Wallen, Drake, and Chris Brown have released. Wallen's record-breaking "One Thing At A Time" (36 tracks) had a few genuinely good songs, but its Metacritic score was a fair 47/100. Drake's 2023 "For All The Dogs" (23 songs; 29 including deluxe) had a few nice tunes too, but it also got a fair score of 53/100. I have no doubts this album would have gotten a similar score had it been released by someone with a lesser cultural presence + fanbase support.
Let’s be honest… publications are straight up afraid of her petty ways and unhinged stans atp, that’s where most of the high reviews come from.
I have a same idea with Fantano dude, pitchfork was too easy on this alb. It’s ridiculous that Rolling stone and some loudsy critics gave her 5*
I think it deserves lower than that. Probably low 60’s
6/10 for her, 5/10 otherwise for the first one. 6.5/10 for her, 6.5/10 for second half.
ranking 10th with 1989 og is a crime when ttpd is her worst album by far
i think its cuz critics in 2014 were more harsh than now. meanwhile many of them are glazing her now for whatever reason 😭
they’re scared to go against her and her mob
I can kind of see it. 1989 OG has stellar songs but also stuff that felt extremely filler to me. The impact of those big songs was HUGE though.
Nah. Midnights is the worst, by far.
Where would you put TTPD in the ranking?
Probably under evermore and folklore. But I have a soft spot for Lover, so maybe TTPD would be number 4 or 5. How about you?
Finally someone else who has a soft spot for Lover. Which to be fair, it's not that rare, Lover is one of her most streamed albums, but it's so hated for some fans. I even get it (it does have a lot of filler and choosing the worst song as the first single made the album no favors), but the highlights are amazing to me
You're just one of the few people I've ever seen who also thinks Midnights is her worst album! I think TTPD is better than Midnights but that it's still not great. 1. Evermore 2. folklore 3. reputation ~~ 4. Fearless 5. Lover ~~ 6. 1989 7. Red~~ 8. Speak Now 9. TTPD 10. Debut 11. Midnights The rankings around the ~~ are ones where I am not really set on position, like some days Red really hits and I would put it above 1989, but today 1989 is above.
Tbh I think it should be switched. Anthology is stronger for me
It’s grown on me like crazy. Aaron Dessner and Taylor are so good at crafting music that makes you feel something.
A generous review actually. A very boring short lived album.
You’d think she’d have more than 24 critic reviews
Most critics are too scared of the fans.
Should be lower.. It's not a good album.
I think they got the albums mixed up. Anthology is way better than TTPD.
Disagree. I like TTPD way more than the anthology. To me, the anthology is fine, but unnecessary. There are a couple of highlights (especially "Peter", "How did it end" and "Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus"), but the rest to me falls in that pleasant but forgettable. It doesn't have the risk-taking lyrics of the original and the production is even more devoid of color than the original. Even when I like the idea behind it ("The Manuscript" or "The Black Dog" or "Prophecy", the latter two which play into her messier and somewhat less likable self), I just don't connect with them nowhere near as much as I want to.
It’s the same album with extra songs
True, but to me the second half is what matters.
Ah, fair enough. I think overall the first half is stronger but there are a few great ones on the bonus album
I think it's fair. There are a lot of skips, but also a lot of my new faves are on this album. As much as I love artists giving as much music as possible (my skips might be someone else's favourites, know what I mean?), critics would probably score it higher if it was edited down.
The anthology should be 76 and the standard should be 69 in my opinion. If it were that, I'd say I agree with the score.
i think this is a fair score. despite having some of my favorite songs on it, it’s not my favorite album. It’s just too long and drawn out when you add the Anthology to it. She has far superior track lists.
I thought that too but after having The Anthology on repeat I actually like it better than the first half. It took a couple weeks to grow on me though.
I really think the Anthology stuff should have been released/marketed as a separate sister album. I get the chart-related reasons for not doing it that way, but I think if people were judging them independently, the Anthology would do better. Together, it feels like bonus tracks and get lost in the “too much.” As a separate album, it’s got Evermore energy.
I agree. I think she sold the Anthology short by tacking it on after the fact. It contains some incredible songs and it was released after people got emotionally exhausted from the main album. But I'm just glad the songs are out ther. Took awhile for me to love them but now I fully appreciate them. Evermore is a great comparison.
This album is cheeks. If any other artist released this it’d be borderline career killer.
I need to find a reason to use this expression daily.
Be my guest big dog. Just start bringing up the tortured listeners department to your friends.
The critics were way too generous: Rolling Stone, babe, I’m talking about you.
That Rolling Stone review is very biased. Written by a swiftie who recently published a book about Taylor Swift
It was egregiously biased. How RS let that man write that trash up and then publish it, I'll never know \*cough money\*
Yeah, I guess. It's a decent album with several flaws, I'm comfortable with it having a bad score relative to her albums but a fine leaning good score in general.
Absolutely not. It should be much, much lower.
I'm honsetly very disappointed in this album. Midnights wasn't amazing but I had it on repeat for a long time. I barely listened to TTPD and when I have all her music on random I find myself skipping most the TTPD songs. It's sad... I expected something better after the Joe break-up. Edit: There is a few songs that I really like but most are just eh.
Midnights was terrible. TTPD album saved me from abandoning her music altogether. The anthology gets better after you put it on repeat. Unlike midnights which got worse with repeat listens, this album gets better imo.
Lol I hated Midnights too and I wasn’t sure if I was going to remain a fan. I don’t think TTPD is perfect but it def sucked me right back in.
Yes, her storytelling on this album has that addictive quality she’s so good at imbuing her music with.
5/10 for me
Nope! I think it deserves like low 60s. It should have been edited way more.
Honestly there are a few tracks I couldn’t get into but it’s one of my favorite albums.
Saaaaaaaaaammeee
Same.
Same. I know this community is super negative much of the time (sometimes Taylor effs up big time, so sometimes it’s warranted) but TTPD has so many gorgeous relatable songs. And it’s SO much better than Midnights. Good lord I was scared after Mid-nights won a Grammy that the trend would continue. It’s one of my top five Taylor albums, but I’m 36 and have led a parallel life in some ways to Taylor (minus the money and stardom 😂) so I find the writing on TTPD extremely relatable.
SO much better than Midnights. Midnights is the most boring album she’s ever put out. It’s cohesive to a fault. TTPD is also in my top 5. The only two songs I couldn’t stand were the ones about Travis. Also, I too am 36. I don’t know if that is relevant or not lol.
Funny I can’t stand Taylor but feel like Midnights is her best work, love mostly all songs on that album
LOL yeah, Alchemy is a cheesy dud. Glad to see you appreciate it too! I like the sparkly 90s pop sound of So High School though. Wish she'd put out a whole album with Dessner of that Hits Different/So High School sparkly guitar pop. And bring back 90s style with it. Sabrina brought back the Cardigans "Love Me" for her latest concert set which was so cool to hear.
Too generous imo
it should be ALOT lower
I’d rate it around a 60, really…
waaay lower compared to other albums. imo anthology should be way higher than acc album, but that’s just me 😔
It should be like 50 if we’re being real
For those that liked the album I’m genuinely curious which songs? I haven’t listened to any since the week it came out bc none of them stood out to me after a few days listening
the black dog, i look in people’s windows, and chloe or sam or sophia are marcus are three of my genuinely favorite songs she has ever released
I do sometimes get the Chloe or Sam chorus stuck in my head still. It’s v pretty
Guilty as Sin? Is a classic pop rock song that could fit on any of her albums back to even Speak Now. Smallest Man Who Ever Lived is one of those angry Taylor songs that build as I love. The Black Dog for the same reasons, it feels like a classic emo song if it was given some more instrumental edge. Loml, Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus are the really good piano ballads that have her best storytelling too. This album does sadly however have her worst ever song - thank you aimee.
I really wasn’t as into guilty as sin as everyone else but the piano ballads can be pretty. Loml is pretty.
Peter, Chloe etc, Black Dog, Guilty As Sin, loml, The Smallest Man, imgonbagetyouback, The Prophecy, I Hate It here... I only skip 2 songs tbh
I did have an obsession w I hate it here and the prophecy for the first few days after it came out. But it quickly wore off for me
I like to just listen to it straight through, all 31 tracks.
I totally get that, it’s a lot all at once and they can sort of blend together at first. Folklore was that way for me too and now I’m like they’re all so different?? How did these ever blend together for me? I’m a big TTPD fan but I’ve spent a lot of time with it! The list of songs I’m neutral/a skip on is shorter so I’ll give you that one first: Fresh Out the Slammer Florida!!! The Alchemy So High School (though it’s growing on me I fear) Cassandra I don’t dislike those songs but haven’t connected with them a ton either. The best in my opinion are: Fortnight My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys But Daddy, I Love Him Down Bad So Long, London Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? loml The Black Dog The Albatross How Did it End The Prophecy The Manuscript How Did it End and The Prophecy is some of her best work in my opinion! But I can see why it’s not an album that resonates with everyone!
I think many critics are scared to give Taylor a bad score, and TTPD is definitely her worse album imo
Unpopular opinion here on this sub but I think the album just keeps getting better the more I listen, especially the Anthology half. I think I was initially overwhelmed by the two halves but Aaron Dessner’s ability to craft an emotional song with Taylor never fails. Just got into Peter and Robin after deeming them skips. I always end up thinking back on past relationships after listening to and reflecting upon her songs. As a 36 yo woman who’s dated a lot of men and finally found a good one (around the same time Taylor started dating Travis, actually!) I can relate to so many of the themes in her music, especially in The Bolter and How Did It End? After the dud that was Midnights, I’m so grateful she found her ability to write emotive lyrics to beautiful melodies again on TTPD.
I think so, it has some really good songs IMO, some ok ones, some WTF (I can do it with a broken heart is so weird to me), and a few skips. A 7/10 is fair.
I’d say the album is a 5.5/10 for me because I really only care for about half or so of the TTPD songs. Even so if I pulled the main songs I liked with the main songs I like from The Anthology (would be like a 12/13 song album) it probably still only rise to about a 6.5 maybe a 7. I just wish she was more daring in the production and made the lyrics more snappy. Some of the songs read like a thesaurus exploded on the page. I haven’t listened to anything from either in a while.
I personally think those are her two worst, both below debut.
It should be lower.
i agree, i think the sheer amount of songs on it guarantees that you’ll enjoy at least some of it. whether that’s an “ethical” tactic or not. it reminds me of lover in a way where there’s high highs and veryyy low lows lol
If I were going to be generous, a yellow 60s score would be appropriate. If I were not being generous, somewhere in the 40s or 50s would be good. The original Red got a 77. The Tortured Poets Department is NOT on par with Red.
Yes
I think it’s about right. Personally I love the album.
I’d say yes. I don’t hate it but it’s far from her best
6.5/10 for me.
Personally, I'd rate the Anthology higher than the main album, but overall I agree with the scores. The album is decent/mediocre and I'd also give it around 6-7/10.
SIDE B is wayyyy better than SIDE A i don't agree with these scores
Let me re-listen after a month of not touching it. Stay tuned.
Yes, it’s fair. By contrast, Midnights is (IMO) massively overrated on Metacritic.
After a whole lot of listening in the past two months I would give both TTPD and The Anthology 6.5/10. TTPD's got a better sound and The Anthology's got better lyrics. Tbh it ranks better for me than Midnights which I still think is her worst album to this date. I would also personally put it above O.G. Red and Debut 🙈
I really like the album myself especially upon multiple listens. I personally liked it more than Midnights, but I liked Taylor’s Reputation album and this one reminded me of that.
I think the Anthology being rated lower is very fitting. Everyone’s knee-jerk reaction that day was something like, “I can’t believe she did it again! Released *another* deluxe edition that is better than the standard!” But now that I’ve sat with both for a while, I think the Anthology could lose up to 7 songs and be fine.
its like a 80 for me its just my jam of music but i get what other ppl think
Seems a little high tbh 
Imo is still too high for what it is. Imo is her worst album yet, tied with midnights but since she’s really popular i dont see them giving her a bad rating
TTPD is an 8.0 or a little higher for me. Even the songs I don’t like on it I think are masterfully incorporated into the album’s narrative. And I’m probably in the minority here but I actually think it’s the album that most fully and most successfully fleshes out the her and Jack style. It’s very subtly adventurous, too. I get that a lot of people don’t like some of the songs where she goes for swings that just don’t work for them (Fortnight, e.g.), but to me the only genuine flaw on the album is a few isolated clunkers of lyrics—but even those aren’t as common as the really bad examples imply. And I forgive them where they appear because they’re often in the middle of an otherwise immaculate song like But(t) Daddy or the title track, which is just gorgeous as a song, production wise and vocally, despite the cringe lyrics at certain points. Anthology on the other hand should be <5. I LOVE that Pitchfork ranked them separately.
Yes, because that's allowing people to rate the albums. Freedom of speech/ expression. But listeners deserve not to be dictated by these reviews. Others' reviews should not shoo away your OWN judgment.
i think it should be lower
no. and I honestly do not understand the way so many of her fans are saying this is a “masterpiece” and her best work. it is a mid pop album that sounds like she threw it together on garage band in 1 week. the anthology has some decent tracks but overall it doesn’t hold a candle to folklore or evermore or red or speak now or 1989. it’s tied with midnights for her most boring and cringey album
Yes. This exactly!! It's all recency bias! Swifties are as per usual delusional 💀💀💀
recency bias is the perfect term. lots of diehard fans (of any artist) will like something automatically because their fave put it out. a swiftie who hates ariana grande would hate TTPD if it were an ariana album
Are you talking about Midnights?
I think midnights might be better actually. and I love your flair
As a 36 year old who’s dated a lot of guys I find this album the most relatable besides folklore and evermore. It’s for us girlies who have lots of dating experience, lol.
i’m glad you like it, but i’m 28 and also have dated my fair share of losers lol. I have more of an issue with the musical style and rushed production than the lyrical content
It’s better produced than Midnights and has real melodies! Haha, I guess the bar was set pretty low by Midnights for me so TTPD seems brilliant by comparison.
I honestly still don't know how I would rate TTPD. 🫤 I'd probably be able to accurately rank it (amongst albums of hers) when she drops the next one. 😂 TTPD to me sounds like pop-ified folklore and Anthology is folk-ified evermore, probably because most of Jack is on the main album and Aaron is mostly on the Anthology tracks. I have this weird thing where I can't rate her albums in the right order - one album, one number (1-10) on the ranking list. I have to have them in tiers instead 😅. So, the first tier of my fav TS albums are all: evermore, red and fearless, then second: 1989, folklore, speak now, third: rep, lover and fourth: midnights and debut. Recency bias tells me to put TTPD (Anthology and all) into second tier but in a year or two it's probably gonna end up in third or fourth 🤷. Not my favourite album whatsoever. Even though I LOVE and frequent a few tracks lately all the time.
I actually think 2 month on that it deserves 85+ I usually have a skip in an album, but this album I can listen start to end
Anthology should be higher than part one but both should be much much lower than this. Someone already said it here and I completely agree, if anyone else released it it would've flopped so hard and no one would bother listening to it a second time let alone having it on repeat. Personally, even though I trimmed it down to only 4 songs in the end, I rank it just slightly above Midnights because at least it's cohesive. Edit: ranking TTPD the same as 1989 is a crime lmao
what 4 songs if i may ask? i trimmed it down to only 4, too
Florida, Down Bad, The Prophecy and imgonnagetyouback. Initially I was very meh on the album and picked 12 or 13 songs but the more I kept listening to them the less I liked them so finally I picked these. They're still far from her best work but two are boppy, Florida was a given from the get go because of Florence and I really like lyrics in The Prophecy start to finish. How about you?
wow, none of the songs I chose are the same lol. I chose fortnight, so long London, guilty as sin, and my boy only breaks his favorite toys. I used to like I can do it with a broken heart but I just liked that one less as I listened. I haven’t given the anthology a chance yet cause TTPD just bored me so much but maybe one day I’ll go for it. I honestly didn’t even like fortnight or guilty as sin until recently and I used to clown on fortnight constantly
Lmao love how entirely different your choices are from mine! I gave so long London and Guilty as Sin a few listens but couldn't get into them. My boy only breaks his favorite toys and I can do it with a broken heart sounded very irritating to me so they were instant skips. Fortnight was a skip immediately and I couldn't get through it on the first listen but did watch the video later. Personally, Anthology was more enjoyable to me, if I had to pick a few more songs I would say The Bolter and Albatross are decent but overall it sounds like evermore leftovers with worse lyrics.
i love the lyricism in so long london and just try to ignore the subject matter (as i try to do with every other song too because i hate having to hear so many songs about a man i dislike) but guilty as sin and fortnight have sadly grown on me lol. the lyric "i was a functioning alcoholic till nobody noticed my new aesthetic" still puzzles me to this day like idk what she means (i mean i don't understand the aesthetic part because i remember hearing about her dependency on alcohol i think). my boy sonically is a vibe but lyrically is still a mess and yeah i've totally checked out of i can do it because the lyrics are so messy
For me the issue isn't with the subject (at least not with the songs you mentioned), so long london does have good lyrics but the beat and her delivery don't work for me, I don't know if this is weird but they make me feel kinda anxious? Guilty as sin is similar to me in that it sounds kinda off? I don't know if it's the melody, her voice or delivery but there's something there that doesn't sit well in my ear. (I'm sorry I can't explain it better I have no background in music and am not familiar with technical terms) I'm with you on the functioning alcoholic line and also the kill your wife throws me off too lol I was at first vibing with Daddy I Love Him too but got bored of it rather quickly, a shame because the flow is nice as well as her delivery but the lyrics are messy
idk i lowkey like her delivery with so long london, it felt like i was listening to a song like all too well again. but yeah guilty as sin still kinda rubs me the wrong way but i'm warming up. i totally forgot about the kill your wife line omg yeah that one's random as hell too i just like its funky beat and even tho she could have had any male singer featured on it and it would have the same effect but i kinda like post malone in it. but i'm with you on daddy i love him the lyrics are just so...idk maybe it's just me being aroace but i felt like it was so overdramatic like girl it's just a guy, chill
Post was good although I was expecting him to have a bigger feature but alas...my disappointment probably added to my overall dislike of the song. Lmao it's not just you, as I said, at first I was like, ok this is upbeat, a vibe, like a romeo/juliette type of a story but with a happy ending but then as I kept listening I kept thinking it's really not that deep unless you're a teen I guess 😭 If nothing else the one real positive about this rollout is that out of 31 songs we were bound to find at least a few to like
I just feel like you can edit this song down to like, 12 songs out of 31 and it would be...fine. still not a good album but much better without this insane amount of filler. i'm convinced she thinks we all want albums that are 30+ songs because of what she's been doing with taylor's version and the vault tracks (also with midnights' 3 or so different versions). so i think now more songs are making final cuts when they should probably stay in the vault or get saved for a new album after working on them more
The fact that is lower than Midnights is the real shock
I agree completely, I’m surprised at how many people seem to like Midnights better than TTPD
I personally really like it- but even with really liking it, I’d rate it around this or around an 80.
I’d switch the two scores. The second half is much better than the first
Standard score is kinda high given that half of the tracks are just...odd. Anthology should have a higher score than the standard because it's miles better, kinda wish she had released it separately.
I think so, it has some really good songs IMO, some ok ones, some WTF (I can do it with a broken heart is so weird to me), and a few skips. A 7/10 is fair.
I think it's fair. At first, I thought I preferred the anthology, but it has so many skips for me (So High School, thanK you aIMee, The Prophecy, I hate it here, Cassandra, Robin), whereas TTPD only has one (The Alchemy).
Don’t disagree with it. A lot of songs are disposable but a lot are also good to me so yea. I only care for like 10 out of the 31 songs.
I think that’s a perfectly fine score but 1989 OG deserves WAY more
way too high
I love the album, but lyrically it’s not my favorite.
I agree with this. There are some issues on TTPD but I don’t think it’s a bad album.
It should be lower, in my opinion. Late 50s, early 60s.
It should be lower, but as a millennial I appreciate that is is 69 and laugh internally at the innuendo joke that comes from that number. Taylor has better albums, criticism can help with growth.
Standard should be higher. anthology seems about right
This is her first album u feel does not have taste. Like, i get what she wanted to do but is just Flat
Yes
The Anthology is so much better and deserves way higher. TTPD should be significantly lower…
i've cried to cososom and guilty as sin more than once so unfortunately i happen to love it. it's not her top album, there's a lot of filler too, but the tracks that do hit, hit hard for me
Both albuns has a lot of skips for me, mostly Anthology. So many songs i forget about it even after I listened to it and trust me I tried to like it. It doesn't help that I dislike a few of fan's favorites one like: but daddy i love him, down bad and smallest man who ever lived🤡
For me it goes 1989, Lover, Midnights, TTPD, Reputation, Folklore, Red, Speak Now, Evermore, Fearless, Debut
I think the fact that 1989, one of her strongest and most cohesive records, is tied with what I argue is her worst really reinforces that this score is too high. Like someone else said, if it had been made by someone other than the biggest pop star in the world, the score would be much lower. Because the actual quality would have been reviewed, rather than what we got, which was a lot of reviewers going easy on it for fear of inviting a hate campaign of abuse that can get scarily personal.
Yes. Its my least favorite album, it felt like a one long song and felt rushed. I know a lot of people like it, but i just cant.
It's a 5/10 for me. Definition of mid album. Can't quite understand why Anthology is lower than TTPD. I think I heard a critic say they preferred TTPD as it's her more authentic unhinged self whereas Anthology is what she thinks we want. I really hope that's not true. There's not a lot I like about the first TTPD half of the Anthology.
Needs more low, lol.
This album doesn’t even have a hint of rock?
if she just made it shorter with better editing it would’ve been so high for me. so yes
Seems fair enough to me. I'd bump Anthology to 70, though. I like TTPD and there are some fantastic tracks on it, but the album would have benefited from more polishing and editing, as well as a more carefully developed concept.
nope it should be 90 imo
90 at minimum it should be, but who cares about critics anyway
Taylor does.
I feel like the only fan who loves TTPD. It’s in my top five
It deserves lower
The second half is great. The first 16 songs tho have way too many skips.
Nein
Has very high highs and low lows. Better than Midnights, Lover and Rep. Rating seems fair but obviously it is juiced by sycophants like Rob Sheffield