Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ broke a record as her biggest album on the Billboard 200. Here’s how her others rank.
August 5, 20240
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for six weeks
Swift’s third album had a lot to live up to, following the blockbuster success of “Fearless.”
In response to skeptics — who questioned whether the teen phenom was relying too heavily on her collaborators — Swift decided to write “Speak Now” entirely by herself. She is the only songwriter credited on the standard tracklist.
Swift’s fifth album marked her official pivot from country to pop music, a move that Swift said she had to “really fight — and I mean aggressively fight — to have happen.”
In addition to its double-digit streak atop the Billboard 200, “1989” yielded several hit singles on the Hot 100, including “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” and “Bad Blood.”
1. “The Tortured Poets Department”
Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 for 13 weeks
Swift’s 11th studio album did not leave the No. 1 slot for 12 straight weeks after its debut in April, fending off new releases from stars like Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, and Zach Bryan.
Swift briefly yielded the top spot to Eminem and Stray Kids before “Poets” returned to No. 1 for another round.