Taylor Swift’s Top Collaborations, Ranked: Critics’ Picks

This may be the least celebrated track on Red — perhaps because she didn’t perform it on the Red Tour and it wasn’t a single; perhaps because it’s one of the slowest songs on the album; or perhaps because the other feature on the record is Ed Sheeran. Whatever the reason, as great as both Swift and the Snow Patrol lead singer’s voices sound together, it’s just not a super memorable track. Listen here.

We promise that you’ll never find another Swift track like “ME!” Her 2019 collaboration with the Panic! At The Disco frontman served as the opening to her Lover era, and Swifties aren’t looking back. Definitely not her most masterful piece of work, it’s not her most forgettable, either, boasting a hyper catchy chorus. Plus, Kidz Bop wouldn’t have to make too many changes on their cover of this one. Listen here.

Probably the least-known collaboration in Swift’s catalog, the Speak Now track was given an international makeover for the Brazilian release of the Speak Now World Tour — Live album. Fernandes’ deeper tone complements Swift’s lighter vocals nicely, and it’s cool to hear a country song get a little Latin flair — it just would’ve been even cooler to hear Swift give her Portuguese a try. Listen here.

Swift helped the typically amped-up rock band behind “The Great Escape” and “Love Drunk” show their more vulnerable side with this love ballad, and it sounds as sweet as the sentiment of the lyrics. Swift’s voice harmonizes beautifully with BLG frontman Martin Johnson’s, and it’s a pretty damn fun to song to belt out, especially with someone else — because two is better than one, duh. Listen here.

There are plenty of remixes that are better than the original, but unfortunately, Mendes’ assist on “Lover” isn’t one of them. Although his delicate vocals are a sweet pairing for Swift’s, his alternate lyrics in the second verse and the bridge felt mostly unnecessary. Listen here.

Thanks to all the Easter eggs she left along the way, it was no surprise to Swifties when Ed Sheeran dropped a remix of his = track featuring the pop star. But the best part about the piano-driven ballad? The fact that its music video reunited the young stars of her “Everything Has Changed” music video — nearly 10 years later (cue a collective, “awww”). Listen here.

The now-defunct indie rock duo brought out Swift’s more tender side for this Hunger Games track, her falsetto making for a beautiful tune that almost serves as a lullaby. It’s a Grammy-winning song, even if “Safe & Sound” is one of the slowest on this list. Listen here.

Prior to teaming up with Kendrick, this was Taylor’s first dabble in rap (well, other than that surprise T-Pain parody “Thug Story”). Swift handled the undulating chorus as B.o.B laid down the verses, her soft tone complementing the fast-paced rapper nicely and showing just how versatile her voice is. Our one problem with this track is that she didn’t bust out those rap skills she flaunted with T-Pain. Listen here.

Swift teams up with her Folklore and Evermore collaborators, The National’s Aaron Dessner and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, in a whole new way for Big Red Machine’s 2021 album How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?. One of two Swift features on the indie-folk duo’s album, “Birch” is one of her most experimental collaborations yet. Combining a simple piano melody with piercing dissonance and a jarring beat, Swift’s soft backing vocals offer a sweet calm amidst the storm. Listen here.

Remember when there wasn’t any bad blood between dear John and Taylor? Prior to their seemingly messy breakup (judging by some of the lines in “Dear John,” like “Don’t you think 19’s too young/ To be played by your dark, twisted games?”), Swift and Mayer blessed the world with this delightful love song. Although it’s Swift’s lightest feature, as she really only chimes in for harmonies, her voice adds a nice touch to the pleasant tune, making it a duet that simply puts a smile on your face. Listen here.

Just seeing the names Ed Sheeran and Future on the same song is enough to know it’s going to be an epic one — and it lives up to its hype. Unlike Swift’s previous collab with Sheeran, “End Game” allows the “Shape of You” singer space to flex his rap muscles, and Future adds just the right amount of Auto-Tune to make it as bountiful sound-wise as it is infectious.

While Swift has a knack for crafting irresistible, upbeat songs, this Fearless track is a reminder that she also has a lovely voice that could practically sing you to sleep. And with Caillat’s voice being just as smooth, “Breathe” is about as beautiful as ballads come, with strings adding an extra layer to the enchanting sound. It may be the most soothing breakup song of all time. Listen here.

If there’s one thing we’ll never say no to, it’s a Swift/Sheeran collab — and “Run” marks their third. With wispy vocal deliveries and dreamy lyrics, the Red (Taylor’s Version) vault track is pretty good, but it isn’t particularly memorable. Guess there was a reason it didn’t make it on the original album — but we’re sure glad to hear it now. Listen here.

What would make a Midnights fan favorite better? Adding a little Ice Spice on it. For the remix of “Karma,” the 23-year-old breakout rapper put her spin on the idea of what goes around, comes around. “It’s okay, baby, you ain’t gotta worry, karma never gets lazy / So, I keep my head up, my bread up, I won’t let up / Promise that you’ll never endeavor with none lesser / I be draggin’ that wagon, karma is a beauty winning that pageant,” she fires during her verse. Listen here.

Like most Taylor Swift songs, this 1989 track was plenty catchy on its own. But with the most celebrated rapper of the 2010s and an even sicker beat, this remix brought the vengeful lyrics to the forefront, emphasizing just how bad that blood really was. Even if the song doesn’t quite do it for you, just watch that explosive Grammy-winning music video — your mind is about to be as blown as the stuff in the clip. Listen here.

We can’t think of a better collaborator than Stapleton for Red (Taylor’s Version)‘s most countrified “From The Vault” song. He may not get his own verse, but the Kentucky-born singer-songwriter’s harmonies truly make the track feel complete. It also reigns among Swift’s trademark tongue-in-cheek callout tracks — so it was probably best she take the lead, anyway. Listen here.

When Midnights first dropped, fans were disappointed at how little Lana Del Rey is actually heard on their collaboration “Snow on the Beach.” Swift listened to her fans and made things right with her Til Dawn deluxe album, where she included a “More Lana Del Rey” version of the track, in which the songstress gets a whole second verse, instantly making it a fan-favorite. Listen here.

A simple piano melody is all Swift’s colorful lyricism needs for her album closer, but Bon Iver’s tempo change midway through makes it all the grander. The duo’s follow-up to their duet on Folklore checks off many of the same boxes — including an epic back and forth moment — yet with a hint of optimism. Listen here.

After being the subject of media infatuation for the majority of her twenties, Swift now keeps much of her personal life out of the public eye. It’s through her music that we catch the biggest glimpses of her day-to-day, and her softly sung Lover track is no exception. On one of her most vulnerable works to date, The Chicks offer a subtle yet poignant harmony for a musical dedication to Swift’s mother amidst a battle with breast cancer. Listen here.

Over a decade after opening for Urban’s Escape Together World Tour in 2009, Swift tapped the country star for a Fearless (Taylor’s Version) vault track penned in that same era. “That’s When” is everything we could want from a country post-breakup duet — two vocalists sharing their POVs before joining forces in magnificent harmony. Listen here.

Of all the “From The Vault” tracks from Swift’s 2021 re-recording of her 2008 crossover album, “You All Over Me” is Fearless-core at its finest. The ballad continues the album’s streak of rain references while harking back to teenage Taylor’s quintessentially country roots — complete with fiddles and a harmonica. Plus, Morris’ low harmony on the chorus only makes her abilities as a songwriter shine brighter. Listen here.

Even if it didn’t have Taylor on backing vocals, “Babe” is a 2012-era Swift track to the bone: a country-pop breakup song with an addictive hook and a heart-clenching bridge. Co-written by Swift, the song was intended for Red but didn’t make the final cut. Country duo Sugarland released “Babe” as a single in 2018, with guest vocals from Swift. It did, however, eventually find its way back home as a “From the Vault” track on her Red (Taylor’s Version) album re-record in 2021. Listen here.

Unlike “Birch,” Swift takes the vocal lead in the second of her two features on Big Red Machine’s 2021 album. With a characteristically dreamlike folk-pop sound, it would make it a seamless addition to her pandemic-era Folklore or Evermore albums. It didn’t — but we’re glad it found its way into the world somehow. Listen here.

After working closely with Aaron Dessner for her first pandemic-era album Folklore, Swift invites the rest of his band for a track off its sister album, Evermore. Swift and The National frontman Matt Berninger hammer it out in a breakup ballad packed with imagery and complex feelings. When the two voices join forces, you can’t help but feel nostalgic and woefully reminiscent — whether you can directly relate to the song’s lyrics or not. Listen here.

With a friendship that goes back years, Swift is essentially the fourth member of Haim — and in joining the sister trio for a remix of “Gasoline” off their 2020 album Women In Music Pt. III, she proves she’d fit in flawlessly. On this feminist power anthem, Swift puts her prowess on full display in the second verse: “You did me bad/ And I did it back/ You needed a–, well, what’s /Wrong with that?” she sings boldly. Listen here.

Sure, not everyone can truly understand the fleeting nature of fame. But women especially can relate to the pressure to consistently exceed expectations to stay relevant. That’s the theme of Swift’s “Nothing New” — her most personal and vulnerable “From The Vault” track off Red (Taylor’s Version). And Bridgers, in the midst of her own rise to stardom, is a compelling and thoughtful addition. Listen here.

We’re just going to come right out and say it: This is quite possibly one of the most underrated country songs of all time. All Swift really provided was a repeated “I can’t live without you, I can’t live without you baby” and a few harmonies, but that’s all we need to fall in love with the song. Plus, it was a full-circle moment for Swift, who paid tribute to the country superstar with her very first single seven years prior to this duet. What is there not to love? Listen here.

Adultery, friendship, murder and revenge are the centerpiece of this fan-favorite Evermore track. In showing off her storytelling skills, Swift invites Haim for eerie backing vocals and even makes Este (one of the rock trio’s members) its main character. Even for an album filled with stories that aren’t necessarily hers, Swift takes a risk with “No Body, No Crime” — and the payoff is everything and more. Listen here.

Taylor and Posty have long been due for a collaboration, with Swift saying for years prior to The Tortured Poets Department‘s lead single “Fortnight” that she was a massive fan of the “Psycho” singer. On the TTPD album opener, the two stars’ voices blend in swirling pop perfection as they sing about the slow process of going crazy over the loss of a complicated relationship, no matter how fleeting it was in totality. Listen here.

Swifties are well aware that Taylor and Ed are best buds, and their silky voices work together so well that it makes you wish they’d do a full album of duets. Fortunately for those itching for more Sheeran and Swift got it with “End Game,” but it’s pretty tough to beat the loveliness of their first time singing together. Listen here.

What do you get when you put two falsetto champs together on one track? Well, in success terms, a No. 2 spot on the Hot 100 and a Grammy nomination — but in song terms, a total belt-along smash. Both Taylor and Zayn’s vocals are as haunting as they are impressive on the Fifty Shades Darker track, making it so much more than just a song for a movie. Listen here.

Bon Iver and Swift’s first collaboration is everything we want from a breakup duet and more: two contrasting perspectives on a shared story, a heartbreaking yet invigorating melody and a pair of passionate vocalists who put their hearts on the line. Justin Vernon was a brilliant choice of a duet partner — alongside her delicate tone, his deep register contributes an even deeper meaning to the song’s masterful lyrics. And that overlapping conversation in the bridge? No notes. Listen here.