There are few artists who manage to use their Music videos to tell a wonderfully crafted story, and Taylor Swift is one of them. In accordance, we have compiled the ten best Taylor Swift music videos that show us exactly why her music videos do so well with fans and critics. In the recent past, the artist has been making waves by directing and shooting her music videos by herself. So much so that she was invited to do a Directors on Directors with Martin McDonagh organised by Variety.

Without any further ado, here are the music videos that make her 2023 Grammy win a well-deserved one.

Best Taylor Swift Music Videos

All Too Well: The Short Film

Out of all her songs, this one comes up in all the lists as the best one. When Swift finally relented and shared the ten-minute version of this song, she also decided to have a short film accompaniment that would bring the song to life. This year, this video was nominated for a Grammy, and it won in the Best Music Video category. Apart from the fact that the video is shot on film, the performances and story that Swift, Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink tell in this video make it one of the best in this list.

Lavender Haze

Taylor Swift became famous as a teenager and has maintained a role model image for a long time. Only very recently, she explicitly mentioned smoking and drinking and still only subtly hints at sex in her music. However, this music video is sensual and charged with tension even though there is no explicit visual confirmation.

She has the ability to convey meaning in this music video, like the subtle painters in France drawing a crown of flowers. Additionally, this video stars transgender model Laith Ashley whose presence has been heralded by many activists praising this representation.

Anti-Hero

While most of the video is in line with her storytelling skill, there are some aspects of the video that haven’t been present in her music videos before. The glittery blood, her large body in a room and the two versions of her are in alignment with her vision for the music video. However, what makes this one different is the presence of comedic timing and filmmaking techniques.

She has moved past the dramatic for a bit to focus on certain beats to show how things function inside her head. It gives the audience some insight into her range as a director. The premise is still a little serious, but the dialogues and editing techniques change the tone completely.

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I Bet You Think About Me

While this music video isn’t directed by Taylor Swift, she has contributed to shot-listing and writing the music video with Blake Lively, who joins the crew as a director for this video. Swift has been playing the jaded ex in many of her videos, and this time, she uses the male perspective to tell the story of the ex who interrupts the wedding.

Additionally, the set design and the costumes set the video apart from most of her others. The aspect ratio, the casting and the filming techniques complement the editing completely. It is a brilliant music video relevant to the song.

willow

From her album, evermore, this song has a serendipitous and witchy feel, and the music video is shot like that. Shot in continuation to the cardigan music video, there is a motif of a gold thread tying the two characters together, which is a call-back to the song, invisible string from the previous album. This music video follows some fantasy elements and vintage-era set designs that fit perfectly well with the video. willow is one of the most popular songs off the album and has become even more popular after the music video was released.

cardigan

Imagine a relationship that you’re reminiscing about. In this video, Swift takes the viewers on a journey through different worlds where the piano is a portal to them. She employs interesting filming techniques, wide shots and a general flair of visual storytelling that make this video stellar compared to the music videos by other artists. This video was shot during COVID-19, and even then, it doesn’t compromise the visual language. The symbolism, colour grading and chronology of the video make it one of her best.

The Man

As a female artist, Swift has endured a lot of negative press and feedback. In this video, she claps back on all the things men do by pretending to be one. It is an interesting story choice for her to play a man as it fits perfectly with the theme of the song because if she presented and dressed as a man, a lot of the things she does would be okay. The video clearly highlights the hypocrisy of modern society and the imbalanced standards set by the patriarchy for women.

Additionally, this is the first music video she has directed by herself and knocked it out of the park.

You Need To Calm Down

This music video was shot to promote the Equality Act. Swift decided to use her large platform and fan base to make her political opinions clear, something she wasn’t allowed to do before. She featured many artists and creatives from the LGBTQ community and gave them visibility through this music video. Apart from all this amazing representation and social activism, this writer cannot deny that Ryan Reynold’s cameo in the video truly made it interesting to watch.

Lover

This video is perhaps one of the most visually appealing ones. It is set in a house inside a snow globe and follows the different aspects of a relationship. There are visual motifs relating to the song, and perhaps one of the biggest is that she keeps her romantic life in a separate world saved like a snow globe. It is shot wonderfully well, with interesting visual language teetering the late 60s and early 70s clothing on her part.

Look What You Made Me Do

There is no other vindictive comeback anthem like this one. Taylor Swift nailed the visual symbolism, subtly calling out people who had dissed her before. It was one of the best comebacks ever. It was not only incredibly self-aware but also self-examining. She took the opportunity of the music video to come up with some of the best visual elements that make the story come alive.

Additionally, her using different facets of her own personality to mock other people and herself. The dark and gritty nature of the video ushered in the Reputation era perfectly.

Taylor Swift continues to be a creative force in the industry, rallying for artists’ right to own their music. She has also taken up the herculean task to direct a full-length feature film after the successes of All Too Well: The Short Film.

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