Every Taylor Swift "From the Vault" Song, Ranked

"We Were Happy" is not memorable; it sounds like other, better Swift songs. If it had made the original album, it would have served as fine filler.

"Bye Bye Baby" is also mostly forgettable. Again, it's not truly bad, but it's nothing special compared to other vault tracks.

The excitement I felt when Swift announced that Fall Out Boy would be on this track is only matched by the disappointment I felt when I finally heard the song. Despite its name and the presence of pop punk royalty, "Electric Touch" lacks a spark.

I get why "You All Over Me" didn't make the original "Fearless." Her team probably thought it was a little too mature and sexy for her image just then. I'm never mad when this song comes on — I particularly enjoy the use of harmonica in it — but it doesn't have anything that sets it apart. Maren Morris — a country great in her own right — is also incredibly underutilised on it.

Swift wrote this song for the original "Red" album, but ultimately it went to the band Sugarland. When they released it in 2018, it peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs. I'm glad Swift got to reclaim a song that she wrote, and the production sets it apart from the original version. It's a good song, but it's nothing special, and the repeated "Babe" gets a little cloying after a while.

Now we're starting to cook. Swift is able to channel the pain of heartbreak in a way that's sharp and painful on "Don't You." While I think there are better vault tracks, I appreciate what this song brings.

This "Red" vault song is actually one of Swift and her friend Ed Sheeran's best collabs (I promise you don't remember 2022's "The Joker and the Queen"). Their voices blend beautifully together on this song.

"Foolish One" quickly became a TikTok meme, which took some of the bite out of it for me. But the way Swift writes about her own daydreams and fantasy is shockingly harsh; "You will learn the hard way," she tells herself, over and over. For someone who has many songs about romantic daydreams, "Foolish One" is a compelling reality check.

I don't think people appreciate Swift's sense of humour enough, and here's a song that's not strictly funny, but the title is definitely a bit of a joke. "We were born to be suburban legends," she sings in the chorus, and that's surely not a good thing. She's grappling with a love that's going to "screw me up forever," and she narrates it with clarity and candor.

"Castles Crumbling" is kind of the early version of "Nothing New." Even as Swift wrote the songs that would become "Speak Now" and felt she was at the top of the world, she was scared that everyone would turn on her. When Swift lets fans in on her anxieties, she does some of her best work. Paramore's Hayley Williams also sounds great singing it.

"Red" is ostensibly a country album, but "I Bet You Think About Me" has far and away the most country influence. It's a great diss track (whether or not it's about Jake Gyllenhaal).

"Message in a Bottle" is a bop. Swift is a master of songs about yearning, and this is an upbeat and fun version of that trope.

"I Can See You" is so sexy and fun that it sounds less like Swift wrote it circa 2012 and more like she wrote it in the last few years; it would have easily fit on "Midnights." The song is propulsive and sharp, and once again, her humour comes out in moments (like when she whispers, "Keep quiet").

"Forever Winter" might not be a ballad, but it's easily one of the saddest songs in Swift's discography. In it, she worries over a loved one who's struggling with their mental health and begs them to stick around. The chorus is a heartfelt, devastating plea, and Swift never reveals how things turn out.

"That's When" is, to me, one of the most overlooked vault tracks. It is very good. Swift and Urban's voices meld well together as they narrate two sides of a break up. The chorus, with its repeated, "That's when," is a great earworm.

"Timeless" falls in a clear lineage of Swift songs. There's "Timeless" from the "Speak Now" vault. Then there's "Starlight" on "Red," "You Are in Love" on "1989," and "Last American Dynasty" on "Folklore." You could even fit "Love Story" in here, I think. All these songs look to the love stories of others for inspiration, whether it's historical figures, her friends, or, in "Timeless," some random people in a thrift store photo. It's one of her sweetest and most romantic songs.

When fans found out there was a song called "Slut!" on "1989 (Taylor's Version)," they definitely expected something a little dancier and sillier. "Slut!" is dreamy but also quite sad. Swift said she kept it off the album in part because it felt like it explored the same topic area as "Blank Space," but "Blank Space" to me is cynical. "Slut!" is romantic — and a little resigned — in the face of a judgmental world.

If we limit the conversation about this song to its allusions to Harry Styles, we are doing it a big disservice. "Is It Over Now?" is one of Swift's most brutal breakup tracks — not because it's particularly mean to her ex, but because it's so economical in doling out pain. And if you still have that much to say, was it over?

Yes, "Mr. Perfectly Fine" is a fun song to tease Joe Jonas about. It's also country pop at its finest. "Hello, Mr. Perfectly Fine / How's your heart after breaking mine?" is one of Swift's best couplets, and the modulation at the end before she says goodbye takes it to another level. Modern pop needs more key changes!

I deeply love this little piano number. Swift writes of her friend Emma (pretty clearly Emma Stone), and after many lines about Emma's wonderfulness, Swift can't help but compare herself to her. "She's so New York when she's in LA," she sings. "She won't lose herself in love the way that I did." There's a longing to be Emma — which also feels very close to a longing to love Emma — that I find heartbreakingly relatable.

Another great song from the "Red" vault. "The Very First Night" is an excellent pop song. It's catchy and fun as it recounts a relationship that's gone sour. Much like the substance of fellow "Red" track "Holy Ground," Swift sings of how she would still go back to the start and do it all over again, ever the romantic optimist who gets off a rollercoaster relationship and says, "Let's do it again."

"Better Man" is the second vault track that was originally released as a song by someone else. This time, Little Big Town got the song in 2016. Their version, full of complicated harmonies, is wonderful, but so is Swift's. It's some of her strongest songwriting, and Swift's voice soars on the chorus. It's also a great karaoke song.

In case it's not clear, the "1989" vault is excellent. "Now That We Don't Talk" is the shortest song Swift has ever released, which is kind of fitting; what else is there to say to someone you don't talk to? The chorus is extremely sharp, and the outro is quite funny. It's one of her best breakup songs.

"Say Don't Go" is my favourite of the "1989" vault, and I immediately connected with it on my very first listen. Swift and her cowriter Diane Warren bring heartbreak to life in sharp colour, and the twinkly production is quintessential "1989."

"Nothing New" is a sad song that's not about heartbreak at all; it chronicles the passing of time and how Swift, at 21, was already worried she would age out of the music industry's taste. Obviously, that didn't end up happening, but she gorgeously narrates the fear that she'll soon be too old to make sad songs and obsessively chronicle her own emotions. Bridgers's voice works beautifully with hers, too.

Honestly, I forgot "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" was even designated as a "vault" song because it is so iconic, so essential. How did we ever go on without it? It tops POPSUGAR's ranking of best Swift songs, so of course it tops this one, too. The expanded "All Too Well" is not just one of the greatest breakup songs of all time, it's also a rallying cry to never let yourself be silenced by the people who hurt you.