For most Taylor Swift fans, listening to an album is a profound experience marked by Swift’s phenomenal songwriting. From Taylor Swift to Midnights, the singer has been creating and releasing what are widely considered artful masterpieces for over fifteen years. However, it is painfully clear that her skilled lyricism and melodic genius do not always translate into a neatly ordered album. 

We—a dedicated swiftie and a newcomer to the artist’s work—sat down to rank Taylor Swift’s Lover, but the main takeaway, particularly from our non-swiftie, was that the order of the songs is overall jumbled and disjointed. The tracklist jumps from upbeat classics to the heartfelt “Soon You’ll Get Better” before abruptly returning to steady, sensual “False God,” and thus seems to lack the flow observed in other artists’ releases. So, rather than rank the songs, we decided to reorder them for the maximal listening experience.

After thorough analysis and rearrangement, we decided that this is the best order for fans to listen to Taylor Swift’s Lover.

1. "I Forgot That You Existed"

We lead with what is, in fact, Lover’s first track. While much of the album feels awkward in its initial order, Swift’s choice to begin with this track was perfect. “I Forgot That You Existed” has a lighthearted and hopeful tone, along with an upbeat, minimalist style that leaves space for the rest of the album to follow. 

2. "The Man"

Following “I Forgot That You Existed” is the dance-worthy, feminist hit titled “The Man.” The catchy melody and accompaniment create a track that is just as upbeat as its precursor, but contains a far busier backtrack. Its lyrics address the pressing issue of gender disparities in everyday life, which is especially powerful coming from one of the world’s most popular female artists; however, its heavy themes and social commentary do not take away from its overall appeal.

3. "You Need to Calm Down"

Our third track, “You Need to Calm Down,” uses its steady baseline and beat to build up from the last song. This earworm is widely known and will provide listeners with a familiar tune early on in the album.

4. "Me!" (feat. Brendon Urie)

Next up is the energetic, hit single “Me!” Though it often feels over-the-top and ridiculous, this song’s well-known lyrics and sweet message about staying true to oneself make it a great—though somewhat ironic—track to follow the peaceful consistency of “You Need to Calm Down.”

5. "Paper Rings"

We continue on from “Me!” with the quick-paced, pop-driven “Paper Rings.” The song is a simple, buoyant love song that consistently lightens the mood; it provides a moment of mindless calm and contentedness after the intense enthusiasm of “Me!”

6. "London Boy"

Our sixth track is “London Boy,” one of our resident swiftie’s top songs. Its mellow sound, pleasant melody, and playful lyrics flow perfectly with the peppiness of “Paper Rings.” It is a track that sounds best when surrounded by other animated songs. On Swift’s original tracklist, however, it was placed between the poppy breakup ballad “Death by a Thousand Cuts” and “Soon You’ll Get Better,” Swift’s heartfelt ode to her mother. Our new placement allows “London Boy” to imbue the album with its spirited joy without interrupting the flow of the album. 

7. "I Think He Knows"

Following “London Boy” is “I Think He Knows,” a fast, light song full of danceable rhythms and lyrical infatuation. It’s a funky, upbeat song, with a catchy bridge. It closes out the first third of the album with an animated energy matching that of “London Boy.”

8. "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince"

Next is the intense “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince,” a song that utilizes high school metaphors to express frustration with modern politics at the time of the album’s release. A personal favorite of both of us, this song helps bring the album into a more romantic mood than the previous lively, light hearted, and fast songs.

9. "Lover"

We continue with none other than the album’s title track, “Lover,” which dives into the sweetest aspects of love and long-term relationships. The song is warm and heartfelt; its mellow pace makes it feel as if it is meant for slow dancing. It builds and grows in intensity as it plays, leading perfectly into the excitement of “Cruel Summer.”

10. "Cruel Summer"

“Cruel Summer,” our tenth track, is the song almost every swiftie considers single material. It’s exciting to listen to, with slightly nonsensical verses and a chorus that can’t help but get stuck in your head. After the slower, more romantic “Lover,” “Cruel Summer” provides one last high-energy excursion before our tracklist turns in a slower, more serious direction.

11. "False God"

Our eleventh song is the sensual “False God,” which contains a slow, steady melody, and an almost ethereal backtrack. The lyrics speak of betrayal and pretending; the song’s consistency helps to taper the exciting energy remaining after its precursor’s conclusion.

12. "Death By a Thousand Cuts"

“Death By a Thousand Cuts” gets to keep its spot at number twelve on the tracklist. However, it now serves as a bridge connecting the sensualness of “False God” and the yearning of “Cornelia Street”. It sends the album in a direction reflecting yearning and regret that is expressed in the two songs following it. And, of course, it has the wonderful line about asking traffic lights for advice.

13. "Cornelia Street"

A heartfelt masterpiece centering nostalgia and yearning for the past, “Cornelia Street” begins to lower the energy of the album as we transition into the final third, which contains Lover’s more  serious songs. After this song, our tracklist slows down significantly so it can reach the conclusion.

14. "Afterglow"

Similar to “Cornelia Street,” “Afterglow” also centers a theme of longing. There is more regret in “Afterglow,” as it is a reflection of events that could’ve gone differently. It is a beautiful song, and its message about hindsight serves to prepare the listener for the fast-approaching conclusion.

15. "It’s Nice to Have a Friend"

This song was hard to place. Its overall style matches the songs we’ve positioned around it, but its lyrics are akin to those near the middle of the tracklist. Ultimately, we decided that placing it near the songs it was most similar to musically—and not necessarily lyrically—would better preserve the flow of the album. Then, due to its lighter tone and meaningful lyrics, we identified “It’s Nice to Have a Friend” as a natural transition into “Soon You’ll Get Better” and placed it immediately beforehand.

16. "Soon You’ll Get Better"

Easily the most emotional song on Lover, “Soon You’ll Get Better” is about Swift’s mother’s struggle with cancer. Finding a spot on the album where the song felt natural and connected was extremely important to us. We wanted to ensure that the song’s emotional impact wasn’t negated by the songs around it, and so we settled on placing it between two meaningful songs: “It’s Nice to Have a Friend” and “The Archer.”

17. "The Archer"

Honestly, if “Daylight” hadn’t been there, this song would have been our closer. It’s emotional, honest, and raw. It’s a culmination of everything in the album, and serves as the perfect transition into the more gentle “Daylight.”

18. "Daylight"

We close out with “Daylight,” the album’s original concluding song. If there is anything perfect about Swift’s tracklist, it’s that this song comes last. From its deep reflection on her life and previous albums to its final lyrics—“I wanna be defined by the things / that I love / Not the things I hate / Not the things that I'm afraid of, [...] / Not the things that haunt me in the middle of the night” (4:10-4:21)—“Daylight” is the perfect album closer through and through.

Though the original tracklist functions perfectly well as it is, reordering the songs like we have creates a more natural flow of tone and energy. We begin with a lighthearted, buoyant collection of pop-driven tracks, including “I Forgot That You Existed,” “You Need to Calm  Down,” and more. The album’s intensity then increases gradually with “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince,” “Lover,” and “Cruel Summer.” These exciting tracks are followed by “Cornelia Street,” which leads the album toward a more solemn, nostalgic conclusion marked by the meaningful “Daylight.” 

Our changes make the album more cohesive and eliminate the jumbled and disjointed feelings evoked by abrupt transitions. Maybe next time you listen to Taylor Swift’s Lover, you’ll consider listening in this order.