poll Midnights vs RED : bigger and better?

[Safe&Sound]

Which album is bigger overall?

 

Both have 3 Top 2 hits

RED has WANEGBT, I Knew You Were Trouble, and ATW 10 minute version

Midnights has Anti-Hero, Karma, and Lavender Haze

 

Both also have some cuts from the album which are moderate hits

RED has 22, Red, and Everything Has Changed

Midnights has Midnight Rain, Bejeweled, and You're on Your Own Kid

 

Please exclude the tour since it will be unfair for RED

[Cruel Summer]

Overall Red is still bigger, but Midnights’ chart trajectory plainly demonstrates that it will eventually overtake Red commercially. I don’t believe it’s even left the top ten of the Billboard 200 yet. It’s an incredibly successful record and still has legs yet. I think that in the long, long term, it will be her second or third biggest album after 1989 (first) and Fearless (second), unless we combine TV numbers with original recordings, in which case Red may stay ahead - but right now only ChartMasters really does that. Midnights should eventually move more units than the original Red and probably would have gotten there regardless of the rerecording.

 

As far as better, I have to give it to Red. It’s really the key, quintessential Taylor record and remains a kind of nexus around which all her other work orbits, for me - and the only album I’d really say is truly better is Evermore. Midnights is my favorite of all her primarily-pop releases and it’s still in my top five Taylor albums, roughly, but synth-based pop music ages differently. I never expected it to be as enduring as Red has been. It may not even hold up against 1989 if that album’s re-recording goes well, as I think 1989 has a bit more of a cohesive, timeless quality about it - and I see Red as better than 1989 in just about every sense but cohesive production.

 

I voted for Midnights in the poll since the question seems to lean toward just bigger, though the thread title also says better.

[Bears01]

Midnights will end up bigger. 
 

Red is way, way, way, better. 
 

State of Grace alone>>>>MIDnights

 

Midnights is lowkey a disappointment coming off the excellent Folklore and Evermore

[BtDecember]

I think Midnights will end up her second biggest album, just after 1989, when all is said and done. Currently, it is still behind Fearless + Fearless TV combined and currently on par with Red + Red TV combined.

 

I think in terms of commercial success, her albums would be ranked like this:

1) 1989 + 1989 TV

2) Midnights

3) Fearless + Fearless TV

4) Red + Red TV

5) Lover

6) Reputation

7) Folklore

8) Speak Now + Speak Now TV

9) Taylor Swift + Taylor Swift TV

10) Evermore :(

Edit: Folklore might actually be bigger than Reputation but I would still give the edge on Reputation because its singles are bigger, which is a no shocker for a pop album.

 

Quality-wise, I rank her albums like this:

1) Folklore

2) Evermore

3) Red + Red TV

4) Speak Now + Speak Now TV

5) 1989

6) Midnights

7) Reputation

8) Fearless

9) Lover

10) Taylor Swift

 

Reputation, Fearless, and Lover are neck-to-neck for me but Lover losses due to its inconsistency throughout the album; I would have ranked it higher if she had trimmed the album to 13 tracks only. Similarly, I would have ranked Red second best if it is consistent throughout the album.

Edited August 18, 2023 by BtDecember

[JoJo]

Shouldn’t bigger and better be two separate poll questions 

 

Anyway, bigger: currently Red. Midnights will end up being the bigger album, but its singles won’t be as memorable. WANEGBT/IKYWT/ATW/22 > AH/Bejeweled/LH/Karma 

 

better: red is one of Taylor’s best albums and midnights is easily one of her worst 

[byzantium]

Red was not as appreciated when it was first released as it is now.  I know that is a wild thing to say about an album that debut with 1.2 million copies and had two major pop hits, but it did not capture pop culture in the way fearless did and 1989 would later do.  It was also initially her most frontloaded being the first of her albums to leave the BB200 before the 2 year mark.  Outside the US and her other major markets, it was her first major album in a lot of markets so she was not the dominant superstar she is now.

 

Midnights on the other hand was completely opposite.  Debuted with massive fanfare in every market and she has held a dominant position in pop culture during this period. 
 

However, RED became a fan favorite and had longevity overall.  It will likely remain bigger overall but midnights had the bigger peak.

[Forever Winter]

IKYWT alone is bigger than Midnights

[Bears01]

14 minutes ago, byzantium said:

Red was not as appreciated when it was first released as it is now.  I know that is a wild thing to say about an album that debut with 1.2 million copies and had two major pop hits, but it did not capture pop culture in the way fearless did and 1989 would later do.  It was also initially her most frontloaded being the first of her albums to leave the BB200 before the 2 year mark.  Outside the US and her other major markets, it was her first major album in a lot of markets so she was not the dominant superstar she is now.

 

Midnights on the other hand was completely opposite.  Debuted with massive fanfare in every market and she has held a dominant position in pop culture during this period. 
 

However, RED became a fan favorite and had longevity overall.  It will likely remain bigger overall but midnights had the bigger peak.

Red made more of an impact than Speak Now and set her up well for 1989. It was because of that album that she was able to make the leap into a true pop superstar. 
 

Speak Now felt completely forgettable (yes it was a huge success, but she felt like a non factor compared to other huge artists at the time who were all in their prime). With Red, she kinda jumped right back to the top in the music industry, both in numbers and in presence 

[Peak Now]

Middy is definitely bigger, but Red (especially Red TV) runs rings around it quality-wise

[Popboi.]

22 minutes ago, Taeyong said:

IKYWT alone is bigger than Midnights

Anti-Hero is bigger than it pretty much on every country

 

 

 

Midnights will take ages to become bigger than Red considering Red is still moving units and the gap is really big right now, but it just might. Red is better for sure.

[Klein]

Red is better and bigger. As it should be. 

 

Midnights trajectory is absolutely mind-blowing however, so it is not out of question that it could end up bigger in the long run. 

[naval23]

Midnights is bigger 

 

Red is way better - All Too Well and State of Grace alone - nothing on Midnights is even touching that 

[littlebodybigheart]

midnights is bigger and better

[elincomprendid]

Midnights is easily bigger, people tend to forget Red once was Taylor's least stable era despite having great singles. It was a sleeper hit album among her albums, Midnights is a monumental album since release

Red was out of the Billboard 200 after like 80 weeks, and right now I think it still has less sales than Speak Now (OG) in the US or basically the same amount. Red only wins to those other eras cause of it having big pop ww singles, something Midnights doesn't lack wait a few years and Red won't be even close in units to THE Midnights

Then regarding which one is better that's more subjective and very unrelated, I could see how people can say either but I feel the general consensus is towards Red being better tbh

[Safe&Sound]

@BtDecember

Are you sure RED + RED TV are not/will not be bigger than Fearless already?

[Safe&Sound]

3 minutes ago, elincomprendid said:

Midnights is easily bigger, people tend to forget Red once was Taylor's least stable era despite having great singles. It was a sleeper hit album among her albums, Midnights is a monumental album since release

Red was out of the Billboard 200 after like 80 weeks, and right now I think it still has less sales than Speak Now (OG) in the US or basically the same amount. Red only wins to those other eras cause of it having big pop ww singles, something Midnights doesn't lack wait a few years and Red won't be even close in units to THE Midnights

Then regarding which one is better that's more subjective and very unrelated, I could see how people can say either but I feel the general consensus is towards Red being better tbh

But you forgot RED's singles are catching up in global term in long run too

I can say that 22 is even bigger than Lavender Haze

 

although 22 was slightly underperformance by that time, in the long run, the song slowly became 22nd birthday classic

 

I can even say that 22 is around Wildest Dreams/Style-sized hit

[Axelios]

Midnights is bigger than Red and much more global. Red had a big debut with its singles but failed to have 1989 and Fearless longevity

 

[Raspberries]

Bigger: Midnights

better: Red

[Feanor]

Bigger: 'Midnights'
Better: 'RED'

[Badgalbriel]

Midnights is bigger and better, tbh

[Taylor fanboy]

MID > Bread

[Ampersand13]

Midnights is definitely bigger, I think that is fairly agreed upon.

 

However, I also think Midnights is a better album on the whole. Even though Red has some of Taylor's best songs, and I do mean a few of my all time favorites, it also has songs I'd be okay never listening to or thinking of again. Red is just such a mixed bag, and while I recognize that's part of its charm, Midnights is much more consistent. 

[BtDecember]

6 hours ago, Safe&Sound said:

@BtDecember

Are you sure RED + RED TV are not/will not be bigger than Fearless already?

I think Fearless remains bigger in North America but Red is bigger worldwide. Plus Love Story and You Belong With Me are bigger and more memorable than all Red singles combined. 

[Michael196]

sacRED sweetie 

[JustHoran]

Midnights is better and bigger, but RED is a cute girl too.