Taylor Swift – 1989
Released on October 27th 2014, Big Machine Records.
Country crossover artist Taylor Swift returned with her fifth studio album, 1989, in 2014. The record marked a change in direction for Swift, as it departed from the country-pop combo her fans had become accustomed to and instead Swift released her “first documented official pop album”. Despite people’s preconceptions that it may sink, the record ended up being a commercial and critical success, becoming the best selling album of 2014 in the US.
Statistics:
- 10% of contributors included it in their lists.
- Of that 10%, every contributor included it within their top 3.
“Although not what I expected, Taylor Swift’s fully blown pop album is amongst my favourites of the year. Expertly produced, with not a single ‘filler track’ on the record, Swift’s proven she’s a pop entity to be reckoned with and has dominated 2014 with the summer smash hit ‘Shake It Off’ and the incredibly music video for ‘Blank Space’. A brilliant album.”
– Hannah Mylrea, Records Editor, ranked the album #2.
Other Accolades:
- ‘Shake It Off’ received Grammy nominations for ‘Records of the Year’, ‘Song of the Year’ and ‘Best Pop Solo Performance’.
- Ranked #1 in the Popjustice Readers poll for ‘Best album’.
- Ranked #12 in The Guardian’s ‘Best albums of 2014’ list.
- Ranked #31 in Pitchfork’s ‘The 50 Best Albums of 2014’ list.
