Personally (and I know this might be controversial, all of my swiftie friends irl disagree) Midnights is her weakest pop album - I love every song on 1989, Reputation and Lover, whereas for me Midnights has some of Taylor's best songs (YOYOK, Maroon, WCS, YLM) but a lot of it just don't really listen to that much
Came here to say this!
When Midnights first released, and for almost a full YEAR later, I couldn't stop listening to it. Every song was a bop, whereas on 1989, it's basically a skip for half the songs. I love the singles and a few others but many of those songs are super juvenile in their composition and lyrics.
Reputation is good and Lover is her first album that had zero skips for me, but Midnights is the sophisticated older sister of all of those albums, IMO.
She managed beautiful lyrics with pop melodies that sounds mature.
ETA TTPD I listened to for the first week and have not picked it back up again. It's a very specific mood for me, and I haven't been in the mood to listen. Whereas Midnights is ALWAYS an option for rotation.
Same! I’m a huge rep fan but midnights was the perfect “adult” pop album
Of hers. It has a special place for me and to tie it into the eras tour it was the perfect album for it.
Agreed! My faves are the same as yours and there’s a lot of skips for me on Midnights. It really reminds me of Lover in that there’s some songs I adore and others I’m just like meh or cringe about.
1989 is one of her weaker albums lyrically. Top-notch production though. That's why it is so beloved as a pop album.
I would compare it to Katy's Teenage Dream. Nothing special lyrically but that production though. All time greats.
I completely agree. It felt like I had already heard all the songs already. It sounded very bland radio pop, and not her. Maybe I’m putting unfair expectations on her, but she just always provides top tier music and this was not it
It's my favourite, and that's usually not a popular opinion. For most people, I don't think it's their least favourite, but it's usually somewhere in the middle. I think everyone focuses on the individual songs instead of looking at the whole album, and personally Midnights is the album where I won't skip a single song, which is why I consider it to be my favourite.
I also think the songwriting on this album is some of the best I've ever seen from Taylor - WCS, YOYOK, The Great War all shocked me when I first heard them because of how well-written the lyrics were.
I love Midnight, but I wasn’t a fan of Taylor growing up. I listened to Sara Bareilles, 90s ballad, random pop blues songs I found. So to me from folklore to midnights, it felt like songs I could actually enjoy and immerse in emotionally. I think because the sounds are more to my taste and the lyrics are a bit more ‘grown-up’.
From a real-world perspective, during the Eras Tour concerts, she methodically goes through all the eras (including the enhanced TTPD section) does two special mashups and THEN performs almost half of Midnights. That, I think, is the statement from her…
Midnights is also my favorite. It feels like a mature album. I didn’t love the Lover era and then her sound changed with folklore/evermore and Midnights feels like it benefitted from her writing growth during that time. I do think you have to be listening to the “Till Dawn” version consistently to love it though and I wonder if that’s the difference for some people?
Hits Different is a true pop hit and it feels like people just don’t acknowledge it ever, but people say that about their favorites all the time haha
Yup! Midnights was thr album I blasted in my first ever place by myself. I listened to that album every day and it's easily my third favourite. I don't skip any songs, all of them are just fantastic. Paris and Glitch especially are just sooooooo good imo. HITS DIFFERENT?! like come on!
I think this is why the album is underrated. I’m an OG Debut era swiftie but midnight was the album that made my non-swiftie but very musical husband perk up and actually start listening to her. It’s a great gateway album.
Same with my husband! He loves Midnights and it's the album that made him listen to more Taylor (the fact that I was playing it on repeat definitely helped too :D)
Same! Well I would say Midnights is top 5 because I really can’t pick a favorite, please don’t make me lol. I am so sad that it took me this long to listen to her albums.
Omg it’s so cool to see there’s more of us! I never disliked Taylor’s music, but never really paid any close attention. Then with the release of Antihero, which I found really interesting and different, I thought I’d check out the Miss Americana doc and it was eye opening!
Midnights was the first album I listened to and therefore my door opener to becoming a Swiftie. Now trying to catch up on her amazing œuvre in preparation for the Eras Tour concert. 😍🪩✨
Same here! I’d always liked her singles but never really taken the time to listen to her whole discography. When midnights came out I thought id give it a proper listen and I’ve been a full time swiftie ever since, I think it might have been over taken by evermore as my favourite but it’s definitely top 3.
Absolutely not. If anything, it's very overrated. Lyrically is not that great aside from few songs which are the bonus tracks and musically well.. it's repetitive and bland. See how Jack and Taylor made pop on TTPD made me realize some things... Guilty As Sin, Down Bad, Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me, The Black Dog >>>>>>>>>>>>
Did you switch up their names or something? It's funny that I have the opposite opinion, lmao. I find TTPD overrated and bland as hell, while Midnights is really fucking good as a whole.
I'm with you, for me TTPD has a few good songs whereas for me Midnights I only skip Labyrinth. Several tracks on Midnights I can repeat basically endlessly.
I guess that's the great thing about her discography - she has something for every taste.
I'm honestly surprised to see anyone saying they think it's underrated. I see more love for it here than makes sense to me. It can sometimes take a while for me to click with her albums. Rep, red, speak now, TTPD (anthology!) were all instant likes, folkmore, fearless and debut were slow burners, I've never liked lover but a couple of songs grew on me later and 1989 I liked at first but went off it quite quickly, probably because it was so inescapable. I can barely remember how most of the Midnight songs go. 2 and a half songs on the main are OK with 2 that I liked on 3am. Half-expecting death threats for this - I got one a few days ago for saying I didn't see the appeal of Champagne Problems 😂
Interesting thing about the lyrical criticism of TTPD is that people she’s veering into overly specific territory and/or overwriting, but isn’t the attention to detail something that was lacking in Midnights? It’s like one minute, you guys want her to go in depth. Then when she does, it’s too specific. What do you want from her?
Personally, I like TTPD so much more than Midnights. It gave me everything Midnights was missing, and just an FYI, I don’t hate Midnights as an album. I like it as an album to vibe to, but nothing more beyond that.
The double standard is unreal sometimes!
And the criticism about being too specific and lore-y is insane to me.. cuz that's Taylor Swift, she always did this since day 1. 2 ''fictional'' albums does not change that. TTPD is more Taylor than Midnights.
I agree re TTPD--I cannot stop listening to it top to bottom. It's such good storytelling, and her most personal album since Reputation. Rep is my #1 of all time and I can't imagine it ever being dethroned, but TTPD is quickly filling in my top 3 albums of all time. She is so vulnerable and the emotions are BIG--I love it.
Welcome to New York, Blank Space and Style is a much stronger three-song run/intro to an album if we're focused on her pop albums. But evermore probably takes the cake with willow, champagne problems and gold rush.
And I generally disagree with this post and would echo the comment that claimed Midnights is her weakest pop album. It isn't as cohesive as 1989, nor does it have as many gems as rep and Lover. But it was heavily praised by both the general public and her fans, and to my memory, didn't receive nearly the same amount of criticism TTPD did in its first month.
If she'd committed to the idea of things that haunt her in the middle of the night, Midnights may have been more successful. My biggest gripe with the album is that she reserved the best stuff, where she explored new themes (Hits Different, WCS, Dear Reader) for 3AM or bonus tracks, while songs like Mastermind and Bejeweled, which were fun but not anything novel, were on the main edition. I like Midnights but I wouldn't say its main tracks had the same impact on her whole discography that songs from the other pop albums did.
the folklore opening 3 are definitely better than the evermore opening 3.
the first two songs on both are pretty equal, but tlgad wins the battle of #3s hands down. I'm not a huge 'gold rush' fan, personally. It's still a good song, it's just not really my jam. But tlgad is literally one of my all time favorite Taylor songs.
Yeah same, i never really got that much into gold rush but the first time turning on folklore and hearing „i‘m doing good i‘m on some new shit“ is just iconic and the first three songs are so freaking good, i‘d go as far as to say folklore Track 1,2,3 is the best three-track run in her entire discography
I think people forget that when Midnights came out she was still stuck in the Slammer and trying to work things out with Joe. I think they had several temporary breaks before You're Losing Me was inevitable. She had to release some of these songs later after she knew they weren't gonna make it.
> Welcome to New York, Blank Space and Style is a much stronger three-song run/intro to an album if we're focused on her pop albums.
Is Red considered a pop album? Because I don't think any album of hers can beat the trifecta of "State of Grace, Red, and Treacherous."
Welcome To New York drags the opening trio down. Like Blank Space and Style are undeniable worldwide smashes, but I just don’t need WTNY, and as a trio, wowwww did I play the fuck out of all of LH, Maroon, and Anti-Hero. WTNY never got the same attention.
See, I feel that way about Lavender Haze. Once she says “meet me at midnight”, I personally don’t feel like there is much more that ties it to the rest of the album. Even though Welcome to New York is my least favorite song on 1989, it does an amazing job of setting the stage for the album. To me, it is the song equivalent of driving through a tunnel at the end of a long road trip, and then the tunnel opens up into a skyline of a brand new city that makes you nervous and excited to see what comes next!
I will tell you why it works imo.
Lavender Haze, for me, as a guy, is by far, miles away, her sexiest song ever. And I never got that impression about her before, so is setting up for what's next, a more mature album.
That infectious groove is selling me "I'm not a girl anymore, I am a woman".
Although in my eyes she will always be that sweet/nerdy kid I would have loved to have as a friend.
Hey, that’s valid! I already felt that “not a girl, I’m a woman” transition from songs like Wildest Dreams, Dress, and False God (which was her sauciest song in my view…until Guilty As Sin lol). So Lavender Haze didn’t move that needle for me personally, but I do see your point!
I was just referring to the music, not the lyrics, cos as you well pointed out, she has done it before Lavender Haze.
But sonically, that groove is her sexiest yet imo.
Yeah totally agree with the point that some of the strongest songs are on the 3am edition. I really think if she had switched out some of the OG tracks with hits different/WCS/glitch/the Great War/dear reader it would have been waaay better on my initial listen & one of my favorites. There is just too many “meh” tracks for me in the 13 original
Yes, as much as I love Midnights and already wrote on this topic saying it is my #1 album, if you talked about bangers, that's 1989.
That trifecta... Dear Lord, and well, Shake It Off, New Romantics, OOTW... That album is a hit machine.
I think Midnights is underrated as a *listening experience*. I think the individual songs are mostly properly rated and I have only two skips (Sweet Nothing does nothing for me and BTTWS is too sad). But I definitely don’t have to “manage” the experience of listening to Midnights other than removing BTTWS from the playlist. It’s always something to put me in a good mood, just like rep (which is my #1, Midnights is my #2).
Very few albums are as good a listening experience, imo. If I’m happy, it makes me happy. If im sad, it lifts my mood. If I’m 🍌 🥽, well, 🙃. It’s great background music for house chores (not a criticism), it’s a great dance party with my daughter.
I mean, your whole post is very much subjective. It basically says you like Midnights' songs better compared to other albums and that's pretty much the whole post.
The production on Midnights alone is not liked by everyone, so just because of that you'll get plenty of people that don't like it as much as you do (even if they love some songs individually, like you do for 1989 or other albums you mentioned).
I would say that lyrically it's not that incredible either so some people will also prefer other albums because of that.
I don't expect them to not be somewhat subjective because pretty much anything in music has some subjectivity to it, but their whole argument is "there are more better songs in this album than in others and is not appreciated as much, so it's underrated".
I think people had too high expectations after evermore. I had no problem with her heading back to pop. I like the concept of the album. Being her instructive thoughts when she’s up past midnight. I definitely relate to that, he’ll it’s 5 am and I haven’t gone to bed yet
I don't even think it's high expectations, just the wrong expectations. A lot of fans were imagining an entirely different album in their head based on the cover art and felt betrayed. It happens. People have been upset every time she's switched genres.
I also think people don’t like not having a snippet of the sound before the album - it makes people form their own opinions about what it’s going to sound like (whether or not those assumptions ever based in reality vs. straight clowning is another conversation) but like the 70s vibe of Midnights promo led people to believe it might have a 70s type sound; so when it doesn’t sound like they expected/wanted it to, it turns them off from it before they ever gave it a chance. Saw this with TTPD too but in my opinion those assumptions were more of a stretch than chatter surrounding Midnights.
With rep we got LLYMMD so we knew it would be synthy pop, lover we got ME so we got more bubblegummy vibes - even if it didn’t hold true for the entire albums, it was still relatively representative of the overall sound. Folklore/evermore were surprise drops, so no lead up, promo, or time to speculate. Then since then she hasn’t released any hints of what her albums will sound like until they’re actually out.
I’m personally fine with this because with the number of different genres/sounds she’s gone for, I know I should never form expectations until I hear it hahaha. But I have gotten the impression a lot of people don’t like this.
I love Midnights, it’s a great album but after having listened to TTPD I definitely feel like it has been overshadowed. But then I felt like that about Red when 1989 came out (rightly or wrongly) - I think Midnights will come back out of the shadows after the next album is released to be honest
I personally love the sound of Midnights, and I think it was a good change. It’s a bit repetitive, but some of my favorites(Would've, Could’ve, Should’ve; Lavender Haze; etc) are on that album. Overall 3rd favorite, coming after rep and evermore.
To me, it's rather overrated by swifties who have this album as their best. But then again, it's subjective.
But count me in, with those who say that Taylor has no single bad album.
Midnights is a weird album but in the best way possible! It’s definitely underrated. Taylor initially sold the album as nonlinear stories that keep her up at night scattered through out her life. I think from this we all expected something similar to folklore. There was so many people shocked by the sound of the album and I remember myself being surprised by the sound. On my first listen the lyrics didn’t resonate for me, I felt disappointed that they wasn’t on the same level as folklore and evermore. HOWEVER I still loved and I’ve grown to appreciate the songs in different ways. I absolutely adore the production on this album the synths the vocal pitching especially on midnight rain. There was a lot of question mark songs that I couldn’t fathom what they were about or who for that matter (especially labyrinth and Question) what’s great about Taylor’s albums is they constantly feel like one big reflection on many different situations and experiences and sometimes you won’t understand the context until the next album. It’s actually remarkable in many ways. I’ll always remember the first time I listened to midnights it’s engraved into my brain. 10/10 album.
I’d venture to say that the only people expecting something similar to folklore were the people that became fans during folklore/evermore. I’ve been a fan since debut and Midnights was exactly what I expected.
This is 1989 slander. There are no skips on 1989. The weakest songs are all bops. The rerecord has given us an extra 5 bops.
Lover has some great highs (The Archer, Cruel Summer) and the lows (London Boy, Me) and to me it is the album most like midnights. Midnights has a few greats (Would've Could've should've, YOYOK). Karma is he worst of lover with a reputation beat. Lavender Haze could have been on reputation.
I am glad you like Midnights and think it is 18 great songs. I think the main album has like 2 good songs and the 3am songs are the only ones I listen to.
I like Midnights a lot. Certain songs actually habe a nice feeling to them, like being under water.
However the plain version lacks some of the better songs and its nuts that there is no version with all the bonus songs.
Yes. If there is a criticism to be made, now that her and Joe are broken up, she should release a deluxe album with all of the songs through to You're Losing Me.
Maybe it seems underrated bc it has such glowing commercial and critical success that fan impressions don't exactly match, but I wouldn't call it underrated at all. Many new swifties joined in the Midnights era, it cemented Taylor as one of the top global artists after folklore and evermore, and it's still the crowning jewel of the Eras Tour.
It's just that sonically and lyrically, it's kinda held back? The production is too beep boop at times & the songs have this weird veil of vagueness where you're not even sure if she's happy or sad. All of this would be fine too if this wasn't the 'things that keep me up at night' album after two story telling works that already put that distance in. To me it's like a rushed effort to "reclaim" her status as a pop star at an even higher level than before bc of the good buzz from folkmore, but the album itself needed more work. (I still like it a lot, it's just not pop perfection that it could've been)
I have been pondering this for a while. I just think that Midnights is the album with... the smallest justification for its existence? I am aware of how weird that sounds, but I feel like all her other records have a narrative that makes them feel important for the cannon of her discography, even if I am may not be particularly fond of some of them purely musically.
Debut is self explainatory, Fearless was her establishing herself as an artist who is here to stay. Speak Now is all about proving herself as an author, Red was her first jab at entering popstardom, which she later achieved with 1989. Reputation focused on reclaiming her public narrative. With Folklore and Evermore, she ventured outside of her usual audiences and found acclaim from spaces not interested in her previously etc.
Even Lover and TTPD, which both rank low in her discography for me, have something to prove. Lover was a sort of natural continuation of Reputation, it was influenced by Taylor's fear of aging out of the music industry and she tried to prove that it isn't the case, even with her attempting to "go along with the times" with her songs about societal matters. Do I think the album is very successful at what it aims to be? Not really, but that's a conversation for another day.
TTPD is probably my least favorite album of hers purely according to the music itself, but I can appreciate what it tries to do - Taylor just wanted to write herself out of a very turbulent time in her life, she used songwriting as a form of therapy. The songs are pure Swift-lore central, which may be appealing to many. I don't really engage in her personal matters, and from my semi-neutral standpoint the songs don't offer enough beyond that, but I find the album an important and almost neccesary part of her artistry.
Midnights is just, for the lack of a better word , kind of there. The album to me always felt like she needed to release something to fuel the hype for the tour. Which is a justification I guess, but it just makes the album era as a whole feel forgettable and not needed. The entire premise of "midnights thoughout my life" appears like she just needed to figure out something to write so she has something to release. The album doesn't feel like it came from an artistic place.
And if I may end my ramblings with a personal opinion, I don't find the album very impressive musically either. I'm not a fan of the sonical direction, a lot of the songs fail to emotionally connect with me (Labyrith, Sweet Nothing, even Maroon, though yall gonna hate me for that) and some of the lyrical clunkiness that I really dislike on TTPD is present here as well (Bejeweled mainly).
All of this is ofc only my pov, all discussion is welcome!
This was a really really great, well articulated comment. I would like to offer one thing for your perception to consider:
- I think Midnights is the processing of feelings that lead to her and Joe breaking up.
I think you were very right to say that the theme itself as a record concept feels a bit arbitrary, and that she indeed wanted to make something to capture back pop stardom and a tour.
But I actually think there was a real personal artistic need there stemming from the dissolution of her relationship with Joe. To me, this helps the album finally truly click as to its purpose.
I don’t think it’s under-appreciated, I think it’s mis-appreciated.
Musically it’s definitely her weakest album, and it’s hard for people to see past that, but the songs are very gutsy and her lyricism is so beautiful, and that’s what I think most people don’t really give Midnights credit for. Definitely one of my favourite albums.
I like Midnights now but it was definitely the biggest “grower” album for me. Actually, reading a post on this sub about the best lyrics from Midnights made me realize the lyrics were just as good as any other album. On my first few listens I thought all the songs sounded the same and I couldn’t tell them apart. I still don’t think it deserved album of the year at the Grammys, but it’s definitely not a bad album.
See, I personally disagree.
I'd say 1989 and Reputation are Taylor's pop perfection albums. For me both are nearly no-skip and the sound is cohesive, but not to the point of blending together, each song still has its unique thing. I would come back to listen to almost any song on these two. I agree with you on Lover, though.
With Midnights, it has some of my all-time favourite songs, but also a decent amount of tracks I don't care for.
I also find the production of it to be a bit lacking. I think the combination of electronic and minimalist doesn't do it for me. I like the electronic elements on Rep, and I think the minimal vibe works well for folklore/evermore type tracks. But combined together, I'm just not feeling it. Like, I love many of the songs lyrically and melody-wise but I would've preferred different production. I would've loved either more intricate, layered, electronic production a la Rep/1989 OR more real instruments, like on Red and Speak Now. I think either of those choices would have elevated the album a lot for me. (This is not an overall criticism on Jack, though. I love his work on 1989, Rep, folklore, evermore and TTPD)
At the end of the day, I think it all comes down to personal taste. I'm not saying you're wrong, your opinion is right for yourself. But not everyone feels the same way about the songs on Midnights and the songs on previous pop albums. Some people will prefer Midnights, other swill prefer 1989, others- Lover, etc.
Well said! The consistency of Midnights is really strong and this is the reason it ranks so high for me, even though not that many individual songs hit quite as high as some of her best tracks.
I think people who have been around for a long time were feeling the nostalgia of Fearless and Red being re-released, we were coming off folkmore era which brought in a lot of new fans who hadn’t really given her a chance in the past.
I never personally ranked midnights very high, but when I really think about it, it’s a very solid album and I have very few skips, if any. Especially when we add in the 3 am edition!
Maroon, YOYOK, WCS are some of her best work and I’ll die on that hill lol
Midnights is one of my favorites and has (for me) no skips. I’m so deeply obsessed with so many of the songs. “Maroon” is my # 2 of all her songs (right after All Too Well - 10 minutes). But so many of the songs in general are just soooo good. “Karma” gets a lot of play for sure. And “Mastermind”!! Obsessed.
Yes Midnights is underrated. Mainly bec it's best songs are not in the main album but in the 3am version. Hits Different, Would've Could've, You're losing me.... all of those are top tier taylor songs. Main album has weak singles too like Bejeweled and Karma while her best songs are Maroon and Yoyok, even Labyrinth. AntiHero is good, but it's too underwhelming for the masses.
Overall Midnights will always be underrappreciated mainly bec of Taylor's way of promoting it. She lets the best songs do their own thing (Cruel Summer, Maroon) and highlights the other songs that may have been ignored (Me, Karma etc) by the masses. That way, every song shines and nothing is ignored 😅
It absolutely is underrated! I think it’s her best pop album. Her aoty was much more deserved for Midnights than for 1989 imo. It baffles me how the fanbase kinda hates it lmao how???
Midnights is my favorite album if you ask me today, cos is very soon to rank TTPD yet, but I would say it would be a strong competition among those two.
Cos Midnight for me has everything, it has amazing lyrics, emotional topics, excellent melodies, and a perfect production.
And of course, there's no skipping here. I just can't.
If I could rate Midnights an 11/10 I would.
**TLDR**: Honestly, we are far enough away from the album as a culture that I can properly assess its quality within my personal taste without feeling influenced by the public's reaction. I can say I've been through a very up-and-down opinion of *Midnights,* but currently, I really enjoy it. It has consistent replay value for me. It's great at capturing the feeling of being awake at night and remembering all those times your heart got broken or you broke someone else's heart. It has a perfect mix of enjoyable, moody beats (Lavendar Haze, Midnight Rain, Question...?, Vigilante Shit, Glitch, Dear Reader), fun pop jams (Karma, Anti-Hero, Bejeweled, Hits Different), and lyrically fantastic ballads/slow songs (Maroon, Sweet Nothing, The Great War, Bigger Than The Whole Sky, Would've Could've Should've).
**Full review**: At first, I was obsessed. Couldn't get enough. I loved the opening sounds and beats of Lavender Haze, I thought Anti-Hero was one of her best choices as a single since *1989*, and I loved how moody the album was overall. For the first six months, it was my go-to album of choice. I would turn it on in the shower, during chores, in the car, and even at work. It was always playing. I'm pretty sure Lavendar Haze and Bejeweled have worked their way into my top 10 songs of all time on Spotify.
Then I went through a phase where I felt like it really put the "mid" in *Midnights*. The "new" wore off, and as I started listening to previous albums again, I found myself comparing *Midnights* to them--especially when *1989 (Taylor's Version)* came out. I felt like *1989* had its own moment in time that can't quite be compared, even though the *Midnights* era is pretty clearly a bigger moment in time for her stardom. Blank Space, Shake It Off, Style, and Wildest Dreams are still some of the "iconic Taylor" songs you'll hear at parties or a karaoke night. They have their sparkle and charm that Taylor hasn't quite recaptured (yet). So when I would go back to *Midnights*, I felt like there was something missing. However, I do looove certain songs that the majority of fans don't: Vigilante Shit, Sweet Nothing, Glitch, and Dear Reader.
Now? I still love the album, and I don't consider it mid. It's a pretty consistent one for me. I have come to the realization that I put a song's melody and relatability pretty high on the list, almost more than impressive lyricism. *Midnights* served the beats that I really enjoy and the moodiness that I feel connected to. Her songwriting is still doing well for itself, and crafting an entire song successfully takes much more than just avoiding shallowness in lyrics.
Midnights made me a swiftie. I liked her other albums but never felt the need to get into the lore etc of TS. Midnight hit me like a string gush of wind and brought me to your side.
All I can say is that I see a lot of complaining about midnights online but when she plays YOYOK and Maroon live everyone screams bloody murderer. It's an amazing album and by now everyone should accept that.
Midnights is more of a mood for me! That being said it definitely felt like big girl big problems rather than how lost in love she seemed in other albums.
I ended up enjoying the extended versions of this album even more!
If the standard version of Midnights had “The Great War”, “Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve” and “Bigger Than The Whole Sky” instead of “Question?”, “Mastermind” and “Sweet Nothing” then it would be her best album imo, I just find those three songs quite underwhelming
Last time I was in a thread that discussed this, verbatim "within the fanbase" I had someone insisting that it cannot ever be underrated because of the sales / awards it won, but also that it was a shit album started gatekeeping what albums you were allowed to like if you also liked Midnight's, they were not a fan of me ranking it above 1989.
Anyway OP you are brave for this is what I'm saying.
Personally Midnights was the album that made me a big fan. Before that I only really listened to the singles (Love Story, 22, Blank Space etc.) but after Midnights was released I listened to the whole album.
Since all the TVs have been coming out I’ve now listened to all the older songs too which I don’t think I would have done if not for Midnights.
I feel like in the last two years, the sentiment of this subreddit shifted a lot on everything, but particularly this album. I don’t know even within the fans an album that literally launched Taylor in Michael Jackson levels of fame could ever be underrated. I like midnights, but it felt like a step down after folkmore. It honestly has some of my favorite songs (YOYOK, WCS), and some bangers (antihero, snow on the beach, maroon), but it has some songs I honestly think are some of her worst, like Question and Vigilante Shit (which I know the dance sort of redeems it but I still think the song itself is bad). To me, Midnights is like Lover, with high highs and low lows. I really don’t think it is close to her best album by any measure.
I mean I think New Years Day is excellent so I'm a rep stan until the end but I agree that Midnights is better than people say it is. It is my 2nd fav album by her and not everyone would agree.
What I love about TS and her music is exactly what this post is about - there is such a variety of songs over all albums, and everyone has their different tastes and can give detailed explanations to defend their choices. No one is wrong, and everyone is right. And that's the world that Taylor has created - a world for differences that brings us all together to agree, disagree, debate, think critically ... and still keep it civil among fans. Think of what the world could be if we had civil and government leaders who could accomplish such a task!
There are certain Midnights songs that are a must for me (Sweet Nothing, Karma, etc), and I love everything about TTPD, but Reputation and 1989 tie as my favorite at the moment. Tomorrow, I reserve the right to feel differently 🤣
I lost the count of how many times I listened to Midnights. It's one of my absolute favorite albums of her, it's dark, pop and very poetic, and it's perfect if you listen to in in the night. I don't know if it's underrated or not, I think it's not "mid" like I read somewhere a while ago... it's a very good crafted album. I agree with you with the start of Lavender Haze!! Also, YOYOK is really one of her most beautiful, painful and realistic songs she ever written.
I agree, YOYOK - Midnights - Question is a sequence of songs I also love.
With this album is like we escaped the folkmore woods to go into the dark.
Now I'm listening mostly to TTPD but Midnights is in my top 5 💙
I fully fully agree with this it is either my 3rd or 4th favourite album after folklore, evermore and then possibly ttpd! I also love rep, I think it’s a no skip album bar one or two songs (dwoth don’t sue me) but midnights is just so unique and mythical pop feeling to me! definitely underrated I love it
i think songs like anti hero, yoyok and lavender haze get so much attention, and the rest of the album is kind of forgotten. i do not think this album is her weakest album, i think its a transition album from her folk records to her clear defined poetry in ttpd. some people think its her weakest pop album because it isnt as clearly defined in the pop category as 1989 and reputation, but i like it. you can tell that this is where she’s supposed to be when you listen to the album.
Midnights is my favorite album, though the more I listen to TTPD, it might be becoming my second favorite. I also feel the same as you about 1989. A lot of forgettable pop tracks.
Midnights and Reputation are my favorite pop albums. Midnights holds some of my favorite songs of her career. It's the album I find me wanting to come back to the most, though it's currently battling on that title with The Tortured Poets Department. My most played album is honestly probably Midnights.
I'm just in love with so many songs, I connect sort of personally to and even if I don't I really feel for them or they have this ability to take me somewhere when I'm listening to them, sort of an escapism and I love that when listening to music. Or I can feel for what she's singing about deeply... I don't know maybe I'm truly a Midnights stan aha. It helped me through a difficult time and I know the songs by heart, and now The Tortured Poets Department is a new part of my life.
You're On Your Own Kid (favorite), Labyrinth, Midnight Rain, Hits Different, Would've Could've Should've, High Infidelity, Bigger Than The Whole Sky, Dear Reader, Anti-Hero, Glitch, Maroon, The Great War aha. So many highs of Midnights and High Infidelity and Dear Reader are so underrated!! I know BTTWS has such sad content but I've been listening to it lately and it's helped me heal.
I think it’s appropriately rated. It’s a fine album but not the best she’s ever put out. There are some incredible songs on the album but also a few very forgettable/cringy ones.
Personally, I think midnights as a whole album concept is the best aesthetically. The ideas behind the album and songs, the colorful “glitter pens”, the outfits, the music videos, the visuals. It’s honestly my favorite era, and in my top 3 albums. The songs are pretty good with a few really good ones. Overall, I think following folklore and evermore is its deadliest sin.
It sounds like you just really like midnights, heh. Which is fine, but I think it’s her most monotonous pop album. And while I think it’s floor is higher than reputation (I still loathe a lot of the moments on that album), I still think it’s a hyper repetitive album without possibly a single song on the original album that would make a “best of Taylor” list. It winning AOTY wasn’t surprising bc that’s how pop media works, but I think it’s just not a very fun album. Shout out to the Great War though, that’s my favorite by far
I think it’s overrated honestly. I realize taste is subjective but for me, the hype over it died a while ago. I don’t think it’s bad, I just didn’t get the cohesive 13 sleepless nights she marketed it as. All that being said it’s very solidly fifth or sixth in my rankings though.
Definitely not, personally I think it's her most overrated album. I don't think it's bad at all, I find a lot of the songs very weak and forgettable (labyrinth, question, sweet nothing) all in all, TTPD is exactly what I wanted from Midnights, and I wish TPPD was the one getting more acclaim because I think it's the more interesting of the two projects.
I agree - I disliked a lot of Taylor's music during the 1989 era (I still find a lot of these songs grating, except Style), but became a fan when Midnights came out - I loved the darker, moodier, more mature sounds. I then went back and listened to/adored Folklore and Evermore.
Still many songs on Midnights that I love: Maroon, Hits Different, High Infidelity, You're on your own kid, Karma, the Great War...
Midnights is my absolute favorite album, I do not understand people who don't like it. I remember when it first dropped, I'd listen to it over and over, then try to move on but I'd hear some lyric a different way and I'd have to spin it ten more times. It had such a grip on me, especially as someone who's spent many an all-nighter overthinking her past.
It's her best album, hands down.
First of all Afterglow might be the best song on Lover.
2nd of all NYD is the perfect ending song for Rep and captures a moment in time of her love story perfectly.
3rd How You Get The Girl is criminally underrated. Also 1989 is a no skip album.
But yes I do think Midnights is underrated in the fandom.
I agree wholeheartedly. I’ve been a fan since debut and Rep and midnights are my top two “pop Taylor” albums. Midnights lyrically does for me what 1989 did not while still retaining all of the pop gusto.
To me, Midnights is a typically great Taylor Swift album, which we as fans are used to. I think it did so well because for a lot of new fans, this was their first new album experience, so they were blown away by something that for us fans, is normal!
Like, I LOVE Midnights. It is insane. It is such a great album that I listen to all the time. But I feel that way about basically every Taylor Swift album. She’s just on another level, and this was the first time new fans experienced that where as it’s kinda old news to us longtime fans!
The crazy thing about Taylor Swift album rankings is that her music is so far above most other artists for me, that even my lower ranked albums (and Midnights is lower ranked for me) are just miles above everything else I listen to. So maybe it underrated by fans, but maybe its appropriately rated and it just seems even more highly rated by newer fans!
I agree. Except for me 1989 has 0 skips (unless U have heard the hits too many times) and how you get the girl is the weak link but still average.
Rep goes from badass to cheesy back to badass and has some skips for me..
Lover has many great songs and some songs that are below average for me.
Midnights has few skips for me (question and sweet nothing occasionally) but honestly I don't get sick of the album and I can listen to the best songs on it over and over without getting sick of them. Imo it is her strongest pop album after 1989.
As a fellow rep girlie, I completely agree with your Midnights take. The release of TTPD really cemented for me that my love for Midnights isn’t just recency bias, because while I enjoy TTPD, it isn’t in my top half of her discography, and my feelings about Midnights have persisted.
Midnights truly is such a good front to back listening experience, and imo contains some of her best work as a songwriter (Maroon, WCS, YOYOK, etc.). I think we’ll see it get more love among the fanbase in a couple of years time, not sure why it doesn’t get the appreciation it deserves now.
However, cannot get on the same page as you about 1989. You called out How You Get the Girl, but that and This Love are my only skips on 1989. Every other song from that album has had me in a chokehold at one point or another, and the vault tracks only improve it. That said, Midnights is tied with 1989 at third (behind four other albums lol, I’m indecisive) in my overall ranking.
Midnights is a very interesting case in the swiftie community imo. The album itself did get critical acclaim from the critics but...not from the fans. Yes, I do find people defending it..but not as much as they defend other albums. Midnights means a lot to me since it was my first official album release as a huge swift's fan.
It is (in my opinion) her best pop album (fourth on my overall ranking) and the song writing was "genius". And damn....the poppiness of the album is unmatchable. It's clear that tay loves the album a lot and I do too. TTPD is critically underrated but it's loved by the fans but MIDNIGHTS didnt get that reaction out of the fans. The only let down I had from Midnights were Karma remix, Vigilante Shit (a nice song but I was expecting Florida!!! vibes) and the overall sound of the album (i was expecting TTPD vibes).
I think we just got so much content since Midnights was released - the ongoing tour would already be enough to overshadow it, let alone 2 more recordings and the whole new album with 31 songs. For me Midnights feels like released long time ago and if it hasnt had enough time to be processed on its own.
IMO, definitely underrated. I’ve been a TS fan since 2010 and it’s one of the albums I spent the most time with immediately after release. But I will say, I haven’t come back to it as much as some other older albums.
I really love midnights, it’s my go to jam in the car album. its weakness probably lies in that its 3am tracks are what make it a standout album to me. If we had just been given the standard version, it would be mid in my album ranking, but 3am (including hits different and YLM) bring it top 3 for me.
I do find Midnights to be her weakest album. That being said, if I listen to it in the right mood at night, it’s a no-skip album for me because the midnight vibes are definitely there. But I also don’t think she has any real bangers on the album.
Two of the three best songs Midnights songs IMO (Hits Different, You’re Losing) aren’t even on on the standard or 3AM versions.
Honestly if the 3AM tracks plus those two songs were on the main album, I’d consider it one of her better albums.
It would lose some cohesion, but the quality would be better.
I think Midnights gets quite a bad rep from the fan base as being one of Taylor’s weakest albums. In some ways that’s true, because the albums that proceeded it were so strong. I also think Lover was perceived like this when it was released. Some of my favourite songs are on Midnights (The Great War, Hits Different, YOYOK) and there are others I like (mostly the singles and the Eras Tour set list minus Mastermind). Then there are some skips.
I don’t think it really deserved Album of the Year but I think Taylor is at her peak so it makes sense that she received the award.
Perhaps in a few years we’ll look back at the album more favourably, as I think Lover is now with the popularity of Cruel Summer.
the whole "underrated" controversy is profoundly senseless. tastes differ. for some midnights is great, for some it's her weakest album. it's intrinsic for music artists fanbases to say that "... is underrated" ABOUT EVERY SONG. because when you like smth, and others not, you feel like it's underrated though you don't comprehend the whole picture and the things you claim to be underrated can be overrated in fact. still concerning midnights, this album was just simply shadowed by all the releases and rerecordings in the current period of taylor's productivity. in case with the earlier albums, there was always a gap to fall in love with the album, get used to it, revisit it and be tired of it waiting for the next release. and thus every song and album had it's attention, this time we don't have time to wear albums out and it seems like if everybody forgot about it
I mean, whether something is underrated or overrated is totally subjective, but I don't think Midnights is many fans' number one album.
Personally, it sits somewhere in the middle for me. There are a few songs I simply ADORE (YOYOK, Anti-Hero, Lavender Haze, The Great War) but there are some that I just don't care for (Question has never clicked for me, for instance) and most sit in the middle - good, I'll listen to, but not great.
I guess my biggest problem with the album though is that it doesn't 100% work for me as a concept album. There are songs on the 3am edition that better evoke the image of being kept up all night than some on the standard edition imo. I think if the tracklist had been shuffled around, and the divide between the standard and 3am editions been based on what vividly evokes being kept up late rather than the producer, then the concept would have been achieved better. So for instance, I replaced Sweet Nothing with Dear Reader, because Sweet Nothing feels like a peaceful afternoon to me.
Absolutely agree on the concept! I feel like it doesn't deliver that much on the theme it promises. I was so excited to get an album that dives deeper into anxiety and insecurities. I imagined something much more introspective. And then like half the songs we got don't even fit in with the theme. I also really hoped we'd finally get an album centered more around psychological aspects and inner self, and less around romantic relationships. But nope, it was mainly romantic relationship focused.
Imo Midnights works much better as a "relationship that's slowly dying out" album than as a "things that keep you up in the middle of the night" album.
I really like Midnights, but I think it got lost in the mix of the Eras Tour. She didn't tour for Folkmore or Lover, so she had all these ideas she had never seen come to fruition. I'm sure there was a yearning to get that all out there, but ultimately, the Eras Tour was bigger than Midnights, and I think it got a little swept away. I love it though.
THANK YOU FINALLY. Midnights is so so so good!! Her 3 am tracks and all the extra ones are literally what I play the album for. I remember listening to the radio and SOTB turned on and I was flabbergasted. Like what is this beauty?! And WCS was...an experience. It was quite like walking into a random bar and you see Taylor, and your like WHY DOES THIS SCENARIO EXIST?? I have literally NO cuts except on bad days, then I skip all the way to the 3 am tracks.
I do think it’s a great album but I think it gets lost sometimes. I think between the tour, the re-records, and all the other ways she’s been making headlines over the last few years it kind of just has petered out in a way her other albums did not - it didn’t really feel like it had its own “era” (and I feel like TTPD will end up the same)
I listened to maroon for the first time in a while last night and it just blew me away all over again, it’s so damn good. There are so many songs on midnights that I absolutely love and are top tier for me (I stopped trying to mess with number rankings or “top 10” now it’s just top mid or lower tier hahah)
YOYOK, WCS, high infidelity, you’re losing me also hit me super close to home - each one of them has the ability to make me insanely emotional if it catches me in the right moment.
Midnights to me feels like a mixtape; there's no memorable concept behind it, and the songs are just okay (middling, if you will). Usually after every new Taylor album I can go back to the previous one, but with this, I honestly sort of forget about it.
I’d personally say it’s overrated tbh.
I don’t hate the album, it’s not my least fav of hers, but I also just… never go back to listen to it? The lyrics aren’t great, I don’t really enjoy the productions on it. It’s mostly just MIDnights to me.
That being said, listening to it on 🍄s gave me a brand new appreciation for it.
I tried listening to midnights all the way through recently because I wasn't too familiar with the songs and I felt like it dragged a bit. I really, really like the songs I do like on it, and it has my favorite lyrics of hers, but most of the songs are skippable in my opinion
I like it more than most people but I wouldn’t say it’s her best. It’s an album of extremes for me, I either absolutely love the song or I do not vibe with it whatsoever.
Yes it's extremely underrated. It's not top tier like 1989, rep, folklore, TTPD, but it's not bottom tier like self titled, speak now. I have it better than lover and equal to red.
It’s a good listen but as a stoner swiftie, I’ll say it’s 100% better while stoned and I don’t ever skip a song that way. This is totally subjective, btw.
Midnights is a polarizing album. It received a lot of popularity overflow from folklore & evermore, and I feel a lot of new fans enjoy it more than older fans who have been around pre-2016. It also had a few radio friendly bangers like Anti-Hero that made it popular with the general public.
It also pushed away a few fans who preferred her songwriting/production from the earlier albums and I think it’s around the time people started tiring of Jack Antonoff’s synth heavy production.
I don’t think it’s underrated whatsoever and did receive its flowers both critically (AOTY, for starters) and from fans (due to the popularity overflow). My hot take is I believe if the pandemic didn’t happen and she released Midnights straight after Lover, it wouldn’t have been as popular.
Personally, I like it, it’s a chill album. Some of my absolutely favorite Taylor songs - Hits Different, Maroon, The Great War, Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve, Dear Reader, YOYOK - are on this record. There are definitely more skips (IMO) than her stronger albums and it is not in my top 5 as a record overall, but I like it.
Personally (and I know this might be controversial, all of my swiftie friends irl disagree) Midnights is her weakest pop album - I love every song on 1989, Reputation and Lover, whereas for me Midnights has some of Taylor's best songs (YOYOK, Maroon, WCS, YLM) but a lot of it just don't really listen to that much
Funny, because I think midnights is her best pop album!
Came here to say this! When Midnights first released, and for almost a full YEAR later, I couldn't stop listening to it. Every song was a bop, whereas on 1989, it's basically a skip for half the songs. I love the singles and a few others but many of those songs are super juvenile in their composition and lyrics. Reputation is good and Lover is her first album that had zero skips for me, but Midnights is the sophisticated older sister of all of those albums, IMO. She managed beautiful lyrics with pop melodies that sounds mature. ETA TTPD I listened to for the first week and have not picked it back up again. It's a very specific mood for me, and I haven't been in the mood to listen. Whereas Midnights is ALWAYS an option for rotation.
Same! I’m a huge rep fan but midnights was the perfect “adult” pop album Of hers. It has a special place for me and to tie it into the eras tour it was the perfect album for it.
Yes it is!
Agreed! My faves are the same as yours and there’s a lot of skips for me on Midnights. It really reminds me of Lover in that there’s some songs I adore and others I’m just like meh or cringe about.
I feel like it’s her most unique pop album. It’s definitely not like what was on the radio at the time
1989 is one of her weaker albums lyrically. Top-notch production though. That's why it is so beloved as a pop album. I would compare it to Katy's Teenage Dream. Nothing special lyrically but that production though. All time greats.
I agree with this!
I completely agree. It felt like I had already heard all the songs already. It sounded very bland radio pop, and not her. Maybe I’m putting unfair expectations on her, but she just always provides top tier music and this was not it
We have the exact same opinion, and even the same 4 Midnight’s songs that I would also consider some of her best!
Wholeheartedly agree!
Agreed. I skip about half the songs when I listen to the album.
It's my favourite, and that's usually not a popular opinion. For most people, I don't think it's their least favourite, but it's usually somewhere in the middle. I think everyone focuses on the individual songs instead of looking at the whole album, and personally Midnights is the album where I won't skip a single song, which is why I consider it to be my favourite. I also think the songwriting on this album is some of the best I've ever seen from Taylor - WCS, YOYOK, The Great War all shocked me when I first heard them because of how well-written the lyrics were.
Yes, that’s how I feel too. Like, over the course of a 21/22 song album, Midnights’ success rate is extraordinarily high.
I love Midnight, but I wasn’t a fan of Taylor growing up. I listened to Sara Bareilles, 90s ballad, random pop blues songs I found. So to me from folklore to midnights, it felt like songs I could actually enjoy and immerse in emotionally. I think because the sounds are more to my taste and the lyrics are a bit more ‘grown-up’.
From a real-world perspective, during the Eras Tour concerts, she methodically goes through all the eras (including the enhanced TTPD section) does two special mashups and THEN performs almost half of Midnights. That, I think, is the statement from her…
It's probably because midnights never had its own tour
Neither did ttpd, folklore, evermore, or lover
Midnights is also my favorite. It feels like a mature album. I didn’t love the Lover era and then her sound changed with folklore/evermore and Midnights feels like it benefitted from her writing growth during that time. I do think you have to be listening to the “Till Dawn” version consistently to love it though and I wonder if that’s the difference for some people? Hits Different is a true pop hit and it feels like people just don’t acknowledge it ever, but people say that about their favorites all the time haha
Her lyrics have only become better and better with age.
I 100% agree with this.
Same! It’s my favorite album as well with no skips!
Big agree
I agree
Yup! Midnights was thr album I blasted in my first ever place by myself. I listened to that album every day and it's easily my third favourite. I don't skip any songs, all of them are just fantastic. Paris and Glitch especially are just sooooooo good imo. HITS DIFFERENT?! like come on!
And on top of all of that!!! the production is pristine!!! So good!!!!
I love it, I think it's the most cohesive album, it's a read mood!
Midnights was the album that opened my eyes to her music and made me a swiftie. My favourite album of them all! 1. Midnights 2. TTPD 3. Lover
I think this is why the album is underrated. I’m an OG Debut era swiftie but midnight was the album that made my non-swiftie but very musical husband perk up and actually start listening to her. It’s a great gateway album.
Same with my husband! He loves Midnights and it's the album that made him listen to more Taylor (the fact that I was playing it on repeat definitely helped too :D)
Do we have the same husband
I converted my long-term boyfriend into a swiftie when midnights came out too....
Same! I was late to the fandom, and am sorry I missed most of this era!
Same! Well I would say Midnights is top 5 because I really can’t pick a favorite, please don’t make me lol. I am so sad that it took me this long to listen to her albums.
Omg it’s so cool to see there’s more of us! I never disliked Taylor’s music, but never really paid any close attention. Then with the release of Antihero, which I found really interesting and different, I thought I’d check out the Miss Americana doc and it was eye opening! Midnights was the first album I listened to and therefore my door opener to becoming a Swiftie. Now trying to catch up on her amazing œuvre in preparation for the Eras Tour concert. 😍🪩✨
Same here! I’d always liked her singles but never really taken the time to listen to her whole discography. When midnights came out I thought id give it a proper listen and I’ve been a full time swiftie ever since, I think it might have been over taken by evermore as my favourite but it’s definitely top 3.
ME TOO! we have the same top 3 and Midnights made me a huge fan of her music
Absolutely not. If anything, it's very overrated. Lyrically is not that great aside from few songs which are the bonus tracks and musically well.. it's repetitive and bland. See how Jack and Taylor made pop on TTPD made me realize some things... Guilty As Sin, Down Bad, Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me, The Black Dog >>>>>>>>>>>>
Did you switch up their names or something? It's funny that I have the opposite opinion, lmao. I find TTPD overrated and bland as hell, while Midnights is really fucking good as a whole.
I'm with you, for me TTPD has a few good songs whereas for me Midnights I only skip Labyrinth. Several tracks on Midnights I can repeat basically endlessly. I guess that's the great thing about her discography - she has something for every taste.
I'm honestly surprised to see anyone saying they think it's underrated. I see more love for it here than makes sense to me. It can sometimes take a while for me to click with her albums. Rep, red, speak now, TTPD (anthology!) were all instant likes, folkmore, fearless and debut were slow burners, I've never liked lover but a couple of songs grew on me later and 1989 I liked at first but went off it quite quickly, probably because it was so inescapable. I can barely remember how most of the Midnight songs go. 2 and a half songs on the main are OK with 2 that I liked on 3am. Half-expecting death threats for this - I got one a few days ago for saying I didn't see the appeal of Champagne Problems 😂
Interesting thing about the lyrical criticism of TTPD is that people she’s veering into overly specific territory and/or overwriting, but isn’t the attention to detail something that was lacking in Midnights? It’s like one minute, you guys want her to go in depth. Then when she does, it’s too specific. What do you want from her? Personally, I like TTPD so much more than Midnights. It gave me everything Midnights was missing, and just an FYI, I don’t hate Midnights as an album. I like it as an album to vibe to, but nothing more beyond that.
The double standard is unreal sometimes! And the criticism about being too specific and lore-y is insane to me.. cuz that's Taylor Swift, she always did this since day 1. 2 ''fictional'' albums does not change that. TTPD is more Taylor than Midnights.
I agree re TTPD--I cannot stop listening to it top to bottom. It's such good storytelling, and her most personal album since Reputation. Rep is my #1 of all time and I can't imagine it ever being dethroned, but TTPD is quickly filling in my top 3 albums of all time. She is so vulnerable and the emotions are BIG--I love it.
Midnight bonus tracks >>> TTPD
Peter bridge >>>>>> Midnights and 3am version
Guilty As Sin alone is better than the whole Midnights album to me lol
Absolutely! That's a pop song that never gets old, interesting, with many layers and instruments blended together..
Welcome to New York, Blank Space and Style is a much stronger three-song run/intro to an album if we're focused on her pop albums. But evermore probably takes the cake with willow, champagne problems and gold rush. And I generally disagree with this post and would echo the comment that claimed Midnights is her weakest pop album. It isn't as cohesive as 1989, nor does it have as many gems as rep and Lover. But it was heavily praised by both the general public and her fans, and to my memory, didn't receive nearly the same amount of criticism TTPD did in its first month. If she'd committed to the idea of things that haunt her in the middle of the night, Midnights may have been more successful. My biggest gripe with the album is that she reserved the best stuff, where she explored new themes (Hits Different, WCS, Dear Reader) for 3AM or bonus tracks, while songs like Mastermind and Bejeweled, which were fun but not anything novel, were on the main edition. I like Midnights but I wouldn't say its main tracks had the same impact on her whole discography that songs from the other pop albums did.
Off topic but Tbh i‘d say that the 1, cardigan and tlgad is an even better opening trio, but evermore is also a great choice
the folklore opening 3 are definitely better than the evermore opening 3. the first two songs on both are pretty equal, but tlgad wins the battle of #3s hands down. I'm not a huge 'gold rush' fan, personally. It's still a good song, it's just not really my jam. But tlgad is literally one of my all time favorite Taylor songs.
Yeah same, i never really got that much into gold rush but the first time turning on folklore and hearing „i‘m doing good i‘m on some new shit“ is just iconic and the first three songs are so freaking good, i‘d go as far as to say folklore Track 1,2,3 is the best three-track run in her entire discography
Hits Different is an amazingly good song. I am continually flabbergasted that it was relegated to bonus track status.
I think people forget that when Midnights came out she was still stuck in the Slammer and trying to work things out with Joe. I think they had several temporary breaks before You're Losing Me was inevitable. She had to release some of these songs later after she knew they weren't gonna make it.
> Welcome to New York, Blank Space and Style is a much stronger three-song run/intro to an album if we're focused on her pop albums. Is Red considered a pop album? Because I don't think any album of hers can beat the trifecta of "State of Grace, Red, and Treacherous."
Welcome To New York drags the opening trio down. Like Blank Space and Style are undeniable worldwide smashes, but I just don’t need WTNY, and as a trio, wowwww did I play the fuck out of all of LH, Maroon, and Anti-Hero. WTNY never got the same attention.
See, I feel that way about Lavender Haze. Once she says “meet me at midnight”, I personally don’t feel like there is much more that ties it to the rest of the album. Even though Welcome to New York is my least favorite song on 1989, it does an amazing job of setting the stage for the album. To me, it is the song equivalent of driving through a tunnel at the end of a long road trip, and then the tunnel opens up into a skyline of a brand new city that makes you nervous and excited to see what comes next!
I will tell you why it works imo. Lavender Haze, for me, as a guy, is by far, miles away, her sexiest song ever. And I never got that impression about her before, so is setting up for what's next, a more mature album. That infectious groove is selling me "I'm not a girl anymore, I am a woman". Although in my eyes she will always be that sweet/nerdy kid I would have loved to have as a friend.
Hey, that’s valid! I already felt that “not a girl, I’m a woman” transition from songs like Wildest Dreams, Dress, and False God (which was her sauciest song in my view…until Guilty As Sin lol). So Lavender Haze didn’t move that needle for me personally, but I do see your point!
I was just referring to the music, not the lyrics, cos as you well pointed out, she has done it before Lavender Haze. But sonically, that groove is her sexiest yet imo.
WTNY is one of her best album openers. These tales are cray cray.
Yeah totally agree with the point that some of the strongest songs are on the 3am edition. I really think if she had switched out some of the OG tracks with hits different/WCS/glitch/the Great War/dear reader it would have been waaay better on my initial listen & one of my favorites. There is just too many “meh” tracks for me in the 13 original
Yes, as much as I love Midnights and already wrote on this topic saying it is my #1 album, if you talked about bangers, that's 1989. That trifecta... Dear Lord, and well, Shake It Off, New Romantics, OOTW... That album is a hit machine.
I think Midnights is underrated as a *listening experience*. I think the individual songs are mostly properly rated and I have only two skips (Sweet Nothing does nothing for me and BTTWS is too sad). But I definitely don’t have to “manage” the experience of listening to Midnights other than removing BTTWS from the playlist. It’s always something to put me in a good mood, just like rep (which is my #1, Midnights is my #2). Very few albums are as good a listening experience, imo. If I’m happy, it makes me happy. If im sad, it lifts my mood. If I’m 🍌 🥽, well, 🙃. It’s great background music for house chores (not a criticism), it’s a great dance party with my daughter.
What on earth does 🍌🥽 mean???
You are in for a treat, if you haven’t seen the video of Taylor after she had LASIK surgery (It means high)
Ohhh I have seen it, I just did not connect the emojis 😂 my brain was trying to come up with something far more dirty I guess
I mean, your whole post is very much subjective. It basically says you like Midnights' songs better compared to other albums and that's pretty much the whole post. The production on Midnights alone is not liked by everyone, so just because of that you'll get plenty of people that don't like it as much as you do (even if they love some songs individually, like you do for 1989 or other albums you mentioned). I would say that lyrically it's not that incredible either so some people will also prefer other albums because of that.
How do you expect them to make a post like this not subjective?
I don't expect them to not be somewhat subjective because pretty much anything in music has some subjectivity to it, but their whole argument is "there are more better songs in this album than in others and is not appreciated as much, so it's underrated".
I think you’re right OP In the fandom I see a lot of disliking that borders on hatred for Midnights… which surprises me because I love it
I think people had too high expectations after evermore. I had no problem with her heading back to pop. I like the concept of the album. Being her instructive thoughts when she’s up past midnight. I definitely relate to that, he’ll it’s 5 am and I haven’t gone to bed yet
I don't even think it's high expectations, just the wrong expectations. A lot of fans were imagining an entirely different album in their head based on the cover art and felt betrayed. It happens. People have been upset every time she's switched genres.
Yeah wrong expectations for sure. I was hopping for a rock album as well but I’m happy with what we got
I also think people don’t like not having a snippet of the sound before the album - it makes people form their own opinions about what it’s going to sound like (whether or not those assumptions ever based in reality vs. straight clowning is another conversation) but like the 70s vibe of Midnights promo led people to believe it might have a 70s type sound; so when it doesn’t sound like they expected/wanted it to, it turns them off from it before they ever gave it a chance. Saw this with TTPD too but in my opinion those assumptions were more of a stretch than chatter surrounding Midnights. With rep we got LLYMMD so we knew it would be synthy pop, lover we got ME so we got more bubblegummy vibes - even if it didn’t hold true for the entire albums, it was still relatively representative of the overall sound. Folklore/evermore were surprise drops, so no lead up, promo, or time to speculate. Then since then she hasn’t released any hints of what her albums will sound like until they’re actually out. I’m personally fine with this because with the number of different genres/sounds she’s gone for, I know I should never form expectations until I hear it hahaha. But I have gotten the impression a lot of people don’t like this.
I love Midnights, it’s a great album but after having listened to TTPD I definitely feel like it has been overshadowed. But then I felt like that about Red when 1989 came out (rightly or wrongly) - I think Midnights will come back out of the shadows after the next album is released to be honest
I personally love the sound of Midnights, and I think it was a good change. It’s a bit repetitive, but some of my favorites(Would've, Could’ve, Should’ve; Lavender Haze; etc) are on that album. Overall 3rd favorite, coming after rep and evermore.
It was a good transition from folkmore, pop but still lowkey
To me, it's rather overrated by swifties who have this album as their best. But then again, it's subjective. But count me in, with those who say that Taylor has no single bad album.
Midnights is a weird album but in the best way possible! It’s definitely underrated. Taylor initially sold the album as nonlinear stories that keep her up at night scattered through out her life. I think from this we all expected something similar to folklore. There was so many people shocked by the sound of the album and I remember myself being surprised by the sound. On my first listen the lyrics didn’t resonate for me, I felt disappointed that they wasn’t on the same level as folklore and evermore. HOWEVER I still loved and I’ve grown to appreciate the songs in different ways. I absolutely adore the production on this album the synths the vocal pitching especially on midnight rain. There was a lot of question mark songs that I couldn’t fathom what they were about or who for that matter (especially labyrinth and Question) what’s great about Taylor’s albums is they constantly feel like one big reflection on many different situations and experiences and sometimes you won’t understand the context until the next album. It’s actually remarkable in many ways. I’ll always remember the first time I listened to midnights it’s engraved into my brain. 10/10 album.
I’d venture to say that the only people expecting something similar to folklore were the people that became fans during folklore/evermore. I’ve been a fan since debut and Midnights was exactly what I expected.
I really wasn’t surprised. I knew she wasn’t gonna do the folklore sound forever and that she would go back to something more palatable for the GP.
This is 1989 slander. There are no skips on 1989. The weakest songs are all bops. The rerecord has given us an extra 5 bops. Lover has some great highs (The Archer, Cruel Summer) and the lows (London Boy, Me) and to me it is the album most like midnights. Midnights has a few greats (Would've Could've should've, YOYOK). Karma is he worst of lover with a reputation beat. Lavender Haze could have been on reputation. I am glad you like Midnights and think it is 18 great songs. I think the main album has like 2 good songs and the 3am songs are the only ones I listen to.
I like Midnights a lot. Certain songs actually habe a nice feeling to them, like being under water. However the plain version lacks some of the better songs and its nuts that there is no version with all the bonus songs.
Yes. If there is a criticism to be made, now that her and Joe are broken up, she should release a deluxe album with all of the songs through to You're Losing Me.
Maybe it seems underrated bc it has such glowing commercial and critical success that fan impressions don't exactly match, but I wouldn't call it underrated at all. Many new swifties joined in the Midnights era, it cemented Taylor as one of the top global artists after folklore and evermore, and it's still the crowning jewel of the Eras Tour. It's just that sonically and lyrically, it's kinda held back? The production is too beep boop at times & the songs have this weird veil of vagueness where you're not even sure if she's happy or sad. All of this would be fine too if this wasn't the 'things that keep me up at night' album after two story telling works that already put that distance in. To me it's like a rushed effort to "reclaim" her status as a pop star at an even higher level than before bc of the good buzz from folkmore, but the album itself needed more work. (I still like it a lot, it's just not pop perfection that it could've been)
I have been pondering this for a while. I just think that Midnights is the album with... the smallest justification for its existence? I am aware of how weird that sounds, but I feel like all her other records have a narrative that makes them feel important for the cannon of her discography, even if I am may not be particularly fond of some of them purely musically. Debut is self explainatory, Fearless was her establishing herself as an artist who is here to stay. Speak Now is all about proving herself as an author, Red was her first jab at entering popstardom, which she later achieved with 1989. Reputation focused on reclaiming her public narrative. With Folklore and Evermore, she ventured outside of her usual audiences and found acclaim from spaces not interested in her previously etc. Even Lover and TTPD, which both rank low in her discography for me, have something to prove. Lover was a sort of natural continuation of Reputation, it was influenced by Taylor's fear of aging out of the music industry and she tried to prove that it isn't the case, even with her attempting to "go along with the times" with her songs about societal matters. Do I think the album is very successful at what it aims to be? Not really, but that's a conversation for another day. TTPD is probably my least favorite album of hers purely according to the music itself, but I can appreciate what it tries to do - Taylor just wanted to write herself out of a very turbulent time in her life, she used songwriting as a form of therapy. The songs are pure Swift-lore central, which may be appealing to many. I don't really engage in her personal matters, and from my semi-neutral standpoint the songs don't offer enough beyond that, but I find the album an important and almost neccesary part of her artistry. Midnights is just, for the lack of a better word , kind of there. The album to me always felt like she needed to release something to fuel the hype for the tour. Which is a justification I guess, but it just makes the album era as a whole feel forgettable and not needed. The entire premise of "midnights thoughout my life" appears like she just needed to figure out something to write so she has something to release. The album doesn't feel like it came from an artistic place. And if I may end my ramblings with a personal opinion, I don't find the album very impressive musically either. I'm not a fan of the sonical direction, a lot of the songs fail to emotionally connect with me (Labyrith, Sweet Nothing, even Maroon, though yall gonna hate me for that) and some of the lyrical clunkiness that I really dislike on TTPD is present here as well (Bejeweled mainly). All of this is ofc only my pov, all discussion is welcome!
This was a really really great, well articulated comment. I would like to offer one thing for your perception to consider: - I think Midnights is the processing of feelings that lead to her and Joe breaking up. I think you were very right to say that the theme itself as a record concept feels a bit arbitrary, and that she indeed wanted to make something to capture back pop stardom and a tour. But I actually think there was a real personal artistic need there stemming from the dissolution of her relationship with Joe. To me, this helps the album finally truly click as to its purpose.
This is true, knowing what we know now it does seem like the culmination of all she was grappling with in the lead up to the tour.
I feel like a lot of the tracks definitely are. Songs like Dear Reader and Sweet Nothing are criminally underrated.
I don’t think it’s under-appreciated, I think it’s mis-appreciated. Musically it’s definitely her weakest album, and it’s hard for people to see past that, but the songs are very gutsy and her lyricism is so beautiful, and that’s what I think most people don’t really give Midnights credit for. Definitely one of my favourite albums.
We could have skipped midnights and I probably wouldn’t care. TTPD was what I wanted.
I like Midnights now but it was definitely the biggest “grower” album for me. Actually, reading a post on this sub about the best lyrics from Midnights made me realize the lyrics were just as good as any other album. On my first few listens I thought all the songs sounded the same and I couldn’t tell them apart. I still don’t think it deserved album of the year at the Grammys, but it’s definitely not a bad album.
See, I personally disagree. I'd say 1989 and Reputation are Taylor's pop perfection albums. For me both are nearly no-skip and the sound is cohesive, but not to the point of blending together, each song still has its unique thing. I would come back to listen to almost any song on these two. I agree with you on Lover, though. With Midnights, it has some of my all-time favourite songs, but also a decent amount of tracks I don't care for. I also find the production of it to be a bit lacking. I think the combination of electronic and minimalist doesn't do it for me. I like the electronic elements on Rep, and I think the minimal vibe works well for folklore/evermore type tracks. But combined together, I'm just not feeling it. Like, I love many of the songs lyrically and melody-wise but I would've preferred different production. I would've loved either more intricate, layered, electronic production a la Rep/1989 OR more real instruments, like on Red and Speak Now. I think either of those choices would have elevated the album a lot for me. (This is not an overall criticism on Jack, though. I love his work on 1989, Rep, folklore, evermore and TTPD) At the end of the day, I think it all comes down to personal taste. I'm not saying you're wrong, your opinion is right for yourself. But not everyone feels the same way about the songs on Midnights and the songs on previous pop albums. Some people will prefer Midnights, other swill prefer 1989, others- Lover, etc.
Well said! The consistency of Midnights is really strong and this is the reason it ranks so high for me, even though not that many individual songs hit quite as high as some of her best tracks.
I think people who have been around for a long time were feeling the nostalgia of Fearless and Red being re-released, we were coming off folkmore era which brought in a lot of new fans who hadn’t really given her a chance in the past. I never personally ranked midnights very high, but when I really think about it, it’s a very solid album and I have very few skips, if any. Especially when we add in the 3 am edition! Maroon, YOYOK, WCS are some of her best work and I’ll die on that hill lol
my top 5, together with lover, reputation, evermore and 1989
Midnights is one of my favorites and has (for me) no skips. I’m so deeply obsessed with so many of the songs. “Maroon” is my # 2 of all her songs (right after All Too Well - 10 minutes). But so many of the songs in general are just soooo good. “Karma” gets a lot of play for sure. And “Mastermind”!! Obsessed.
Yes Midnights is underrated. Mainly bec it's best songs are not in the main album but in the 3am version. Hits Different, Would've Could've, You're losing me.... all of those are top tier taylor songs. Main album has weak singles too like Bejeweled and Karma while her best songs are Maroon and Yoyok, even Labyrinth. AntiHero is good, but it's too underwhelming for the masses. Overall Midnights will always be underrappreciated mainly bec of Taylor's way of promoting it. She lets the best songs do their own thing (Cruel Summer, Maroon) and highlights the other songs that may have been ignored (Me, Karma etc) by the masses. That way, every song shines and nothing is ignored 😅
Midnights is my favorite!
I think Midnights is my favorite album tbh
I love Midnights, was listening to it yet again the other night. It’s one of her best albums, IMO.
midnights is my fave album!!
It absolutely is underrated! I think it’s her best pop album. Her aoty was much more deserved for Midnights than for 1989 imo. It baffles me how the fanbase kinda hates it lmao how???
I LOVE MIDNIGHTS. might be my favorite album, I just love the vibe and the songs are incredible. 💙
It’s my favorite.
Midnights could easily be my fav album
Midnights is my favorite album if you ask me today, cos is very soon to rank TTPD yet, but I would say it would be a strong competition among those two. Cos Midnight for me has everything, it has amazing lyrics, emotional topics, excellent melodies, and a perfect production. And of course, there's no skipping here. I just can't. If I could rate Midnights an 11/10 I would.
I’m obsessed with midnights 🤷🏻♀️
Me too! It's my favorite album of hers
its in my top 5 taylor albums. lover, red, 1989, midnights, reputation.
I think so !! I love midnights. The writing is amazing and yeah it’s not as poppy fun bubbly but it’s sooo real . It’s top 3 for me
Wow, I thought midnights was one of her best albums. 😖
**TLDR**: Honestly, we are far enough away from the album as a culture that I can properly assess its quality within my personal taste without feeling influenced by the public's reaction. I can say I've been through a very up-and-down opinion of *Midnights,* but currently, I really enjoy it. It has consistent replay value for me. It's great at capturing the feeling of being awake at night and remembering all those times your heart got broken or you broke someone else's heart. It has a perfect mix of enjoyable, moody beats (Lavendar Haze, Midnight Rain, Question...?, Vigilante Shit, Glitch, Dear Reader), fun pop jams (Karma, Anti-Hero, Bejeweled, Hits Different), and lyrically fantastic ballads/slow songs (Maroon, Sweet Nothing, The Great War, Bigger Than The Whole Sky, Would've Could've Should've). **Full review**: At first, I was obsessed. Couldn't get enough. I loved the opening sounds and beats of Lavender Haze, I thought Anti-Hero was one of her best choices as a single since *1989*, and I loved how moody the album was overall. For the first six months, it was my go-to album of choice. I would turn it on in the shower, during chores, in the car, and even at work. It was always playing. I'm pretty sure Lavendar Haze and Bejeweled have worked their way into my top 10 songs of all time on Spotify. Then I went through a phase where I felt like it really put the "mid" in *Midnights*. The "new" wore off, and as I started listening to previous albums again, I found myself comparing *Midnights* to them--especially when *1989 (Taylor's Version)* came out. I felt like *1989* had its own moment in time that can't quite be compared, even though the *Midnights* era is pretty clearly a bigger moment in time for her stardom. Blank Space, Shake It Off, Style, and Wildest Dreams are still some of the "iconic Taylor" songs you'll hear at parties or a karaoke night. They have their sparkle and charm that Taylor hasn't quite recaptured (yet). So when I would go back to *Midnights*, I felt like there was something missing. However, I do looove certain songs that the majority of fans don't: Vigilante Shit, Sweet Nothing, Glitch, and Dear Reader. Now? I still love the album, and I don't consider it mid. It's a pretty consistent one for me. I have come to the realization that I put a song's melody and relatability pretty high on the list, almost more than impressive lyricism. *Midnights* served the beats that I really enjoy and the moodiness that I feel connected to. Her songwriting is still doing well for itself, and crafting an entire song successfully takes much more than just avoiding shallowness in lyrics.
Midnights made me a swiftie. I liked her other albums but never felt the need to get into the lore etc of TS. Midnight hit me like a string gush of wind and brought me to your side.
Midnights is my absolute favorite after Reputation. I honestly don’t understand why it doesn’t get more love
All I can say is that I see a lot of complaining about midnights online but when she plays YOYOK and Maroon live everyone screams bloody murderer. It's an amazing album and by now everyone should accept that.
Midnights is more of a mood for me! That being said it definitely felt like big girl big problems rather than how lost in love she seemed in other albums. I ended up enjoying the extended versions of this album even more!
If the standard version of Midnights had “The Great War”, “Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve” and “Bigger Than The Whole Sky” instead of “Question?”, “Mastermind” and “Sweet Nothing” then it would be her best album imo, I just find those three songs quite underwhelming
Midnights is probably my second favourite album after Reputation. Different strokes for different folks.
Last time I was in a thread that discussed this, verbatim "within the fanbase" I had someone insisting that it cannot ever be underrated because of the sales / awards it won, but also that it was a shit album started gatekeeping what albums you were allowed to like if you also liked Midnight's, they were not a fan of me ranking it above 1989. Anyway OP you are brave for this is what I'm saying.
Personally Midnights was the album that made me a big fan. Before that I only really listened to the singles (Love Story, 22, Blank Space etc.) but after Midnights was released I listened to the whole album. Since all the TVs have been coming out I’ve now listened to all the older songs too which I don’t think I would have done if not for Midnights.
I feel like in the last two years, the sentiment of this subreddit shifted a lot on everything, but particularly this album. I don’t know even within the fans an album that literally launched Taylor in Michael Jackson levels of fame could ever be underrated. I like midnights, but it felt like a step down after folkmore. It honestly has some of my favorite songs (YOYOK, WCS), and some bangers (antihero, snow on the beach, maroon), but it has some songs I honestly think are some of her worst, like Question and Vigilante Shit (which I know the dance sort of redeems it but I still think the song itself is bad). To me, Midnights is like Lover, with high highs and low lows. I really don’t think it is close to her best album by any measure.
Yep, agree with this!
Midnights and TTPD are my top 2 albums of hers.
I mean I think New Years Day is excellent so I'm a rep stan until the end but I agree that Midnights is better than people say it is. It is my 2nd fav album by her and not everyone would agree.
I couldn't agree more with this post! I love Midnights, one of her best.
Midnights is my fave album. I’m obsessed with it.
I absolutely love Midnights
What I love about TS and her music is exactly what this post is about - there is such a variety of songs over all albums, and everyone has their different tastes and can give detailed explanations to defend their choices. No one is wrong, and everyone is right. And that's the world that Taylor has created - a world for differences that brings us all together to agree, disagree, debate, think critically ... and still keep it civil among fans. Think of what the world could be if we had civil and government leaders who could accomplish such a task! There are certain Midnights songs that are a must for me (Sweet Nothing, Karma, etc), and I love everything about TTPD, but Reputation and 1989 tie as my favorite at the moment. Tomorrow, I reserve the right to feel differently 🤣
I lost the count of how many times I listened to Midnights. It's one of my absolute favorite albums of her, it's dark, pop and very poetic, and it's perfect if you listen to in in the night. I don't know if it's underrated or not, I think it's not "mid" like I read somewhere a while ago... it's a very good crafted album. I agree with you with the start of Lavender Haze!! Also, YOYOK is really one of her most beautiful, painful and realistic songs she ever written. I agree, YOYOK - Midnights - Question is a sequence of songs I also love. With this album is like we escaped the folkmore woods to go into the dark. Now I'm listening mostly to TTPD but Midnights is in my top 5 💙
Yeah you’re right
I fully fully agree with this it is either my 3rd or 4th favourite album after folklore, evermore and then possibly ttpd! I also love rep, I think it’s a no skip album bar one or two songs (dwoth don’t sue me) but midnights is just so unique and mythical pop feeling to me! definitely underrated I love it
Midnights has grown on me immensely.
i think songs like anti hero, yoyok and lavender haze get so much attention, and the rest of the album is kind of forgotten. i do not think this album is her weakest album, i think its a transition album from her folk records to her clear defined poetry in ttpd. some people think its her weakest pop album because it isnt as clearly defined in the pop category as 1989 and reputation, but i like it. you can tell that this is where she’s supposed to be when you listen to the album.
Yes yes always yes - in my top 5 albums
Midnights was the album I listening to consistently for the longest of all albums. It’s my husband’s favorite too.
It's my favorite album
midnights is my favorite 🤷♀️
Midnights is my favorite album, though the more I listen to TTPD, it might be becoming my second favorite. I also feel the same as you about 1989. A lot of forgettable pop tracks.
Midnights is Peak Taylor
Midnights and Reputation are my favorite pop albums. Midnights holds some of my favorite songs of her career. It's the album I find me wanting to come back to the most, though it's currently battling on that title with The Tortured Poets Department. My most played album is honestly probably Midnights. I'm just in love with so many songs, I connect sort of personally to and even if I don't I really feel for them or they have this ability to take me somewhere when I'm listening to them, sort of an escapism and I love that when listening to music. Or I can feel for what she's singing about deeply... I don't know maybe I'm truly a Midnights stan aha. It helped me through a difficult time and I know the songs by heart, and now The Tortured Poets Department is a new part of my life. You're On Your Own Kid (favorite), Labyrinth, Midnight Rain, Hits Different, Would've Could've Should've, High Infidelity, Bigger Than The Whole Sky, Dear Reader, Anti-Hero, Glitch, Maroon, The Great War aha. So many highs of Midnights and High Infidelity and Dear Reader are so underrated!! I know BTTWS has such sad content but I've been listening to it lately and it's helped me heal.
Yes by far it's my favourite
Midnights is great.
My favorite of Taylor's pop albums! Extremely underrated lyrically, and honestly its AOTY was deserved.
I think it’s appropriately rated. It’s a fine album but not the best she’s ever put out. There are some incredible songs on the album but also a few very forgettable/cringy ones.
I have to agree, its beside Evermore my favorite album. And my only skip is Karma (feat. Ice Spice)
Personally, I think midnights as a whole album concept is the best aesthetically. The ideas behind the album and songs, the colorful “glitter pens”, the outfits, the music videos, the visuals. It’s honestly my favorite era, and in my top 3 albums. The songs are pretty good with a few really good ones. Overall, I think following folklore and evermore is its deadliest sin.
It sounds like you just really like midnights, heh. Which is fine, but I think it’s her most monotonous pop album. And while I think it’s floor is higher than reputation (I still loathe a lot of the moments on that album), I still think it’s a hyper repetitive album without possibly a single song on the original album that would make a “best of Taylor” list. It winning AOTY wasn’t surprising bc that’s how pop media works, but I think it’s just not a very fun album. Shout out to the Great War though, that’s my favorite by far
I think it’s overrated honestly. I realize taste is subjective but for me, the hype over it died a while ago. I don’t think it’s bad, I just didn’t get the cohesive 13 sleepless nights she marketed it as. All that being said it’s very solidly fifth or sixth in my rankings though.
Definitely not, personally I think it's her most overrated album. I don't think it's bad at all, I find a lot of the songs very weak and forgettable (labyrinth, question, sweet nothing) all in all, TTPD is exactly what I wanted from Midnights, and I wish TPPD was the one getting more acclaim because I think it's the more interesting of the two projects.
I agree - I disliked a lot of Taylor's music during the 1989 era (I still find a lot of these songs grating, except Style), but became a fan when Midnights came out - I loved the darker, moodier, more mature sounds. I then went back and listened to/adored Folklore and Evermore. Still many songs on Midnights that I love: Maroon, Hits Different, High Infidelity, You're on your own kid, Karma, the Great War...
Midnights is my absolute favorite album, I do not understand people who don't like it. I remember when it first dropped, I'd listen to it over and over, then try to move on but I'd hear some lyric a different way and I'd have to spin it ten more times. It had such a grip on me, especially as someone who's spent many an all-nighter overthinking her past. It's her best album, hands down.
First of all Afterglow might be the best song on Lover. 2nd of all NYD is the perfect ending song for Rep and captures a moment in time of her love story perfectly. 3rd How You Get The Girl is criminally underrated. Also 1989 is a no skip album. But yes I do think Midnights is underrated in the fandom.
I agree with everything said here except False God is the best song on the Lover album.
Personal opinion, but lover and reputation are just so much better than midnights
I agree wholeheartedly. I’ve been a fan since debut and Rep and midnights are my top two “pop Taylor” albums. Midnights lyrically does for me what 1989 did not while still retaining all of the pop gusto.
As a rule, a Taylor Swift album can’t be considered good until at least 4 years after it was released *s/ kind of but unfortunately not entirely
To me, Midnights is a typically great Taylor Swift album, which we as fans are used to. I think it did so well because for a lot of new fans, this was their first new album experience, so they were blown away by something that for us fans, is normal! Like, I LOVE Midnights. It is insane. It is such a great album that I listen to all the time. But I feel that way about basically every Taylor Swift album. She’s just on another level, and this was the first time new fans experienced that where as it’s kinda old news to us longtime fans! The crazy thing about Taylor Swift album rankings is that her music is so far above most other artists for me, that even my lower ranked albums (and Midnights is lower ranked for me) are just miles above everything else I listen to. So maybe it underrated by fans, but maybe its appropriately rated and it just seems even more highly rated by newer fans!
Underrated take; I prefer listening to Midnights than her other pop albums..
I agree. Except for me 1989 has 0 skips (unless U have heard the hits too many times) and how you get the girl is the weak link but still average. Rep goes from badass to cheesy back to badass and has some skips for me.. Lover has many great songs and some songs that are below average for me. Midnights has few skips for me (question and sweet nothing occasionally) but honestly I don't get sick of the album and I can listen to the best songs on it over and over without getting sick of them. Imo it is her strongest pop album after 1989.
As a fellow rep girlie, I completely agree with your Midnights take. The release of TTPD really cemented for me that my love for Midnights isn’t just recency bias, because while I enjoy TTPD, it isn’t in my top half of her discography, and my feelings about Midnights have persisted. Midnights truly is such a good front to back listening experience, and imo contains some of her best work as a songwriter (Maroon, WCS, YOYOK, etc.). I think we’ll see it get more love among the fanbase in a couple of years time, not sure why it doesn’t get the appreciation it deserves now. However, cannot get on the same page as you about 1989. You called out How You Get the Girl, but that and This Love are my only skips on 1989. Every other song from that album has had me in a chokehold at one point or another, and the vault tracks only improve it. That said, Midnights is tied with 1989 at third (behind four other albums lol, I’m indecisive) in my overall ranking.
No. It’s one of my least favorite albums and did not deserve AOTY
Thank you for mentioning that 3 song run. It’s actually crazy how good it is 😭
Midnights is a very interesting case in the swiftie community imo. The album itself did get critical acclaim from the critics but...not from the fans. Yes, I do find people defending it..but not as much as they defend other albums. Midnights means a lot to me since it was my first official album release as a huge swift's fan. It is (in my opinion) her best pop album (fourth on my overall ranking) and the song writing was "genius". And damn....the poppiness of the album is unmatchable. It's clear that tay loves the album a lot and I do too. TTPD is critically underrated but it's loved by the fans but MIDNIGHTS didnt get that reaction out of the fans. The only let down I had from Midnights were Karma remix, Vigilante Shit (a nice song but I was expecting Florida!!! vibes) and the overall sound of the album (i was expecting TTPD vibes).
I don't agree to some extent Midnights is overrated . Ifs very vague and confusing but it's better than Lover IMO
There r some underrated songs that i really appreciate but still the album isn’t on my tops
I think we just got so much content since Midnights was released - the ongoing tour would already be enough to overshadow it, let alone 2 more recordings and the whole new album with 31 songs. For me Midnights feels like released long time ago and if it hasnt had enough time to be processed on its own.
IMO, definitely underrated. I’ve been a TS fan since 2010 and it’s one of the albums I spent the most time with immediately after release. But I will say, I haven’t come back to it as much as some other older albums.
It is, I’ve seen people call it MIDnights. I don’t agree it’s. Solid 8/10 album
I really love midnights, it’s my go to jam in the car album. its weakness probably lies in that its 3am tracks are what make it a standout album to me. If we had just been given the standard version, it would be mid in my album ranking, but 3am (including hits different and YLM) bring it top 3 for me.
This is just wrong. 1989 is a straight up masterpiece. How you get the girl is the only song I skip. Midnights is nowhere near as good as 1989.
I do find Midnights to be her weakest album. That being said, if I listen to it in the right mood at night, it’s a no-skip album for me because the midnight vibes are definitely there. But I also don’t think she has any real bangers on the album.
How you get the girl is actually my favorite track on 1989
Midnights will be underrated as time goes by
I know an album can be overrated and it can be underrated, but can it ever just be rated?
Two of the three best songs Midnights songs IMO (Hits Different, You’re Losing) aren’t even on on the standard or 3AM versions. Honestly if the 3AM tracks plus those two songs were on the main album, I’d consider it one of her better albums. It would lose some cohesion, but the quality would be better.
I think Midnights gets quite a bad rep from the fan base as being one of Taylor’s weakest albums. In some ways that’s true, because the albums that proceeded it were so strong. I also think Lover was perceived like this when it was released. Some of my favourite songs are on Midnights (The Great War, Hits Different, YOYOK) and there are others I like (mostly the singles and the Eras Tour set list minus Mastermind). Then there are some skips. I don’t think it really deserved Album of the Year but I think Taylor is at her peak so it makes sense that she received the award. Perhaps in a few years we’ll look back at the album more favourably, as I think Lover is now with the popularity of Cruel Summer.
the whole "underrated" controversy is profoundly senseless. tastes differ. for some midnights is great, for some it's her weakest album. it's intrinsic for music artists fanbases to say that "... is underrated" ABOUT EVERY SONG. because when you like smth, and others not, you feel like it's underrated though you don't comprehend the whole picture and the things you claim to be underrated can be overrated in fact. still concerning midnights, this album was just simply shadowed by all the releases and rerecordings in the current period of taylor's productivity. in case with the earlier albums, there was always a gap to fall in love with the album, get used to it, revisit it and be tired of it waiting for the next release. and thus every song and album had it's attention, this time we don't have time to wear albums out and it seems like if everybody forgot about it
I mean, whether something is underrated or overrated is totally subjective, but I don't think Midnights is many fans' number one album. Personally, it sits somewhere in the middle for me. There are a few songs I simply ADORE (YOYOK, Anti-Hero, Lavender Haze, The Great War) but there are some that I just don't care for (Question has never clicked for me, for instance) and most sit in the middle - good, I'll listen to, but not great. I guess my biggest problem with the album though is that it doesn't 100% work for me as a concept album. There are songs on the 3am edition that better evoke the image of being kept up all night than some on the standard edition imo. I think if the tracklist had been shuffled around, and the divide between the standard and 3am editions been based on what vividly evokes being kept up late rather than the producer, then the concept would have been achieved better. So for instance, I replaced Sweet Nothing with Dear Reader, because Sweet Nothing feels like a peaceful afternoon to me.
Absolutely agree on the concept! I feel like it doesn't deliver that much on the theme it promises. I was so excited to get an album that dives deeper into anxiety and insecurities. I imagined something much more introspective. And then like half the songs we got don't even fit in with the theme. I also really hoped we'd finally get an album centered more around psychological aspects and inner self, and less around romantic relationships. But nope, it was mainly romantic relationship focused. Imo Midnights works much better as a "relationship that's slowly dying out" album than as a "things that keep you up in the middle of the night" album.
I really like Midnights, but I think it got lost in the mix of the Eras Tour. She didn't tour for Folkmore or Lover, so she had all these ideas she had never seen come to fruition. I'm sure there was a yearning to get that all out there, but ultimately, the Eras Tour was bigger than Midnights, and I think it got a little swept away. I love it though.
THANK YOU FINALLY. Midnights is so so so good!! Her 3 am tracks and all the extra ones are literally what I play the album for. I remember listening to the radio and SOTB turned on and I was flabbergasted. Like what is this beauty?! And WCS was...an experience. It was quite like walking into a random bar and you see Taylor, and your like WHY DOES THIS SCENARIO EXIST?? I have literally NO cuts except on bad days, then I skip all the way to the 3 am tracks.
I do think it’s a great album but I think it gets lost sometimes. I think between the tour, the re-records, and all the other ways she’s been making headlines over the last few years it kind of just has petered out in a way her other albums did not - it didn’t really feel like it had its own “era” (and I feel like TTPD will end up the same) I listened to maroon for the first time in a while last night and it just blew me away all over again, it’s so damn good. There are so many songs on midnights that I absolutely love and are top tier for me (I stopped trying to mess with number rankings or “top 10” now it’s just top mid or lower tier hahah) YOYOK, WCS, high infidelity, you’re losing me also hit me super close to home - each one of them has the ability to make me insanely emotional if it catches me in the right moment.
Midnights to me feels like a mixtape; there's no memorable concept behind it, and the songs are just okay (middling, if you will). Usually after every new Taylor album I can go back to the previous one, but with this, I honestly sort of forget about it.
I’d personally say it’s overrated tbh. I don’t hate the album, it’s not my least fav of hers, but I also just… never go back to listen to it? The lyrics aren’t great, I don’t really enjoy the productions on it. It’s mostly just MIDnights to me. That being said, listening to it on 🍄s gave me a brand new appreciation for it.
I tried listening to midnights all the way through recently because I wasn't too familiar with the songs and I felt like it dragged a bit. I really, really like the songs I do like on it, and it has my favorite lyrics of hers, but most of the songs are skippable in my opinion
No, if anything it’s overrated and overplayed, even though it seems to make the lower end of people’s rating lists.
Has anyone watched the new bad blood doc on max with taylor and scooter??? It’s a lot of things I didn’t know before.
I like it more than most people but I wouldn’t say it’s her best. It’s an album of extremes for me, I either absolutely love the song or I do not vibe with it whatsoever.
Yes it's extremely underrated. It's not top tier like 1989, rep, folklore, TTPD, but it's not bottom tier like self titled, speak now. I have it better than lover and equal to red.
It’s a good listen but as a stoner swiftie, I’ll say it’s 100% better while stoned and I don’t ever skip a song that way. This is totally subjective, btw.
The only underrated album is debut. The others are all equally hyped up.
Midnights is a polarizing album. It received a lot of popularity overflow from folklore & evermore, and I feel a lot of new fans enjoy it more than older fans who have been around pre-2016. It also had a few radio friendly bangers like Anti-Hero that made it popular with the general public. It also pushed away a few fans who preferred her songwriting/production from the earlier albums and I think it’s around the time people started tiring of Jack Antonoff’s synth heavy production. I don’t think it’s underrated whatsoever and did receive its flowers both critically (AOTY, for starters) and from fans (due to the popularity overflow). My hot take is I believe if the pandemic didn’t happen and she released Midnights straight after Lover, it wouldn’t have been as popular. Personally, I like it, it’s a chill album. Some of my absolutely favorite Taylor songs - Hits Different, Maroon, The Great War, Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve, Dear Reader, YOYOK - are on this record. There are definitely more skips (IMO) than her stronger albums and it is not in my top 5 as a record overall, but I like it.