METACRITIC SCORE: 76
Generally favorable based on 28 reviews
Pretty Much Amazing - 91 1989 isn’t a “crossover” success. It’s the album every subsequent blockbuster must now reckon with.
PopMatters - 90 The true appeal of 1989, in its perfect evocation of our hugest, most teenage feelings, isn’t the socio-political purity so many critics seem to begrudge Swift for failing to embody, its an aesthetic purity--the purity of feeling, the life-affirming way pop music like hers can force us to drop our pretenses of sophistication for the length of an album and feel on a visceral, unfiltered level
Sputnikmusic - 86 What truly puts Swift’s fifth full-length in its own class is the combination of brilliant songwriting and incredible production. Those two strengths come together throughout 1989, but no track showcases it better than “Out of the Woods.”
The Line of Best Fit - 85 There's evolution with purpose in every fibre of 1989, and far from jettisoning her integrity in this drastic lunge, she's proved in her bold, risky decision that she's got courage in her convictions to pull it off and faith in her fans to accept the new direction.
The A.V. Club - 83 Swift’s never going to be as bleak as Del Rey or as sexually frank as Madonna, but, on 1989, she’s figured out how to be an adult once and for all.
U]Billboard.com[/U] - 80 With 1989, she expertly sets up the next chapter of what is now even more likely to be a very long career.
Rolling Stone - 80 Deeply weird, feverishly emotional, wildly enthusiastic, 1989 sounds exactly like Taylor Swift, even when it sounds like nothing she's ever tried before. And yes, she takes it to extremes.
musicOMH.com - 80 While not completely successful in showcasing in her transition into pure pop, 1989 is a great listen for those refuse to believe both the hype and the haters.
Entertainment Weekly - 75 In some small-minded circles, country has a junior-varsity rep, while pop is the Olympics. And Swift wants us to know she’s ready for her shot at an all-around gold medal. With 1989, she should earn at least a silver.
Drowned In Sound - 70 Taylor Swift may not be challenging societal norms in the same way as Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and my own band CHRIST ALIVE are, but she’s relatable and that counts for a lot. I spent a surprising amount of 1989 rooting for its protagonist and sharing in her triumph.
Tracklist:
1. Welcome to New York
2. Blank Spaces
3. Style
4. Out of the Woods
5. All You Had To Do Was Stay
6. Shake It Off
7. I Wish You Would
8. Bad Blood
9. Wildest Dreams
10. How You Get the Girl
11. This Love
12. I Know Places
13. Clean
14. Wonderland (Deluxe Edition)
15. You Are In Love (Deluxe Edition)
16. New Romantics (Deluxe Edition)
17. I Know Places [Voice Memo] (Deluxe Edition)
18. I Wish You Would [Voice Memo] (Deluxe Edition)
19. Blank Space [Voice Memo] (Deluxe Edition)
• 2nd highest debut-week sales for a female artist
• Most pre-orders in iTunes history
• First artist to have three albums debut with sales over 1M
• Highest female first week sales of 2014
• First platinum album of 2014
• Largest debut of 2014
• Sixth highest weekly sales for an artist in the UK in 2014
Taylor's US discography sales: Taylor Swift (2006) - 5.41 million Fearless (2008) - 6.82+ million Speak Now (2010) - 4.4 million Red (2012) - 4 million 1989 (2014) - 1.3+ million
Total US Album Sales: 22M
Taylor's WW disography sales: Taylor Swift (2006) - 6 million Fearless (2008) - 9.3 million Speak Now (2010) - 5.5 million Red (2012) - 6 million 1989 (2014) - 1.7+ million