Reputation (album)

Taylor Swift marketеd 1989, her fifth studio album, as her first "official pop album" that abandoned the country music stylings she had been known for.{{sfn|McNutt|2020|p=78}} Released on October 27, 2014, the album has a synth-pop production characterized by dense synthesizers, programmed drum machines, and electronically manipulated vocals.{{cite magazine |last=Aswad |first=Jem |date=October 24, 2014 |title=Album Review: Taylor Swift's Pop Curveball Pays Off With 1989 |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6289405/taylor-swift-1989-album-review |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102091354/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6289405/taylor-swift-1989-album-review |archive-date=November 2, 2014 |access-date=November 5, 2014}} 1989's huge commercial success turned Swift into a pop icon;{{Sfn|McNutt|2020|p=78–79}}{{cite web |last=Levine |first=Nick |date=August 21, 2019 |title=Taylor Swift's Lover: The Struggle to Maintain Superstardom |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190820-taylor-swift-and-the-struggle-to-maintain-pop-superstardom |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301114553/https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190820-taylor-swift-and-the-struggle-to-maintain-pop-superstardom |archive-date=March 1, 2021 |access-date=November 12, 2020 |publisher=BBC}} it spent 11 weeks at number one and a full year in the top 10 on the Billboard 200, and three of its singles reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.{{Cite magazine |last=Caulfield |first=Keith |date=October 27, 2015 |title=Taylor Swift's 1989 Only Fifth Album to Spend First Year in Billboard 200's Top 10 |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/taylor-swift-1989-billboard-200-top-10/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241207200515/https://www.billboard.com/pro/taylor-swift-1989-billboard-200-top-10/ |archive-date=December 7, 2024 |access-date=January 23, 2025 |magazine=Billboard}}{{cite magazine |last=Unterberger |first=Andrew |date=July 6, 2018 |title=While You Weren't Looking, Taylor Swift Scored Her Biggest Reputation Radio Hit |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/taylor-swift-delicate-reputation-biggest-radio-hit/ |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707010902/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8464159/taylor-swift-delicate-reputation-biggest-radio-hit |archive-date=July 7, 2018 |access-date=October 11, 2020 |url-access=subscription}}File:Taylor Swift 043 (18117777270).jpgSwift's heightened fame was accompanied by increasing media scrutiny; British GQ wrote that she became "a lightning rod for accelerating cultural anxieties about race, gender and privilege".{{Cite web |last=Lynskey |first=Dorian |date=December 13, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Complex Reputation |url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/taylor-swift-reputation |access-date=January 25, 2023 |website=British GQ |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125065702/https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/taylor-swift-reputation |url-status=live }} During promotion of 1989, Swift proclaimed her feminist identity and appeared in public with a "squad" of female celebrity friends including fashion models, actresses, and singers, which critics took issues with as an elitist group that diminished her relatability.{{Cite news |last=Vincent |first=Alice |date=November 3, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift: The Rise, Fall and Re-Invention of America's Sweetheart |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/taylor-swift-rise-fall-re-invention-americas-sweetheart/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/taylor-swift-rise-fall-re-invention-americas-sweetheart/ |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |access-date=January 1, 2023 |work=The Daily Telegraph}} Her romantic relationships with the Scottish DJ Calvin Harris and the English actor Tom Hiddleston were publicized in tabloid media, as was her feud with the rapper Kanye West and the media personality Kim Kardashian over West's song "Famous", in which he claims he made Swift a success ("I made that bitch famous").{{cite web |last=Ryan |first=Patrick |date=November 9, 2017 |title=5 Things Taylor Swift's Past USA Today Interviews Tell Us About Her Reputation Era |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2017/11/09/5-things-taylor-swifts-past-usa-today-interviews-tell-us-her-reputation-era/840232001/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110033304/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2017/11/09/5-things-taylor-swifts-past-usa-today-interviews-tell-us-her-reputation-era/840232001/ |archive-date=November 10, 2017 |access-date=November 9, 2017 |work=USA Today}}{{Cite magazine |last=Voght |first=Kara |date=December 23, 2022 |title=The Year Everyone Realized They Were Wrong About Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/taylor-swift-kanye-west-controversy-truth-1234651970/ |url-access=limited |access-date=January 1, 2023 |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-date=March 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330134500/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/taylor-swift-kanye-west-controversy-truth-1234651970/ |url-status=live }} Although Swift said she never consented to the lyric, Kardashian released a phone recording in which Swift consented to another portion of the song.{{Cite magazine |last=Hiatt |first=Brian |date=September 18, 2019 |title=Taylor Swift: The Rolling Stone Interview |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/taylor-swift-rolling-stone-interview-880794/ |url-access=limited |access-date=January 7, 2023 |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-date=September 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918150500/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/taylor-swift-rolling-stone-interview-880794/ |url-status=live }} The phone call was revealed to have been purposely edited after the transcript leaked in 2020.{{Cite magazine |last=Willman |first=Chris |date=March 21, 2020 |title=Taylor Swift and Kanye West's 2016 Phone Call Leaks: Read the Full Transcript |url=https://variety.com/2020/music/news/taylor-swift-kanye-west-phone-call-leaks-read-full-transcript-1203541363/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320163614/https://variety.com/2020/music/news/taylor-swift-kanye-west-phone-call-leaks-read-full-transcript-1203541363/ |archive-date=March 20, 2022 |access-date=August 13, 2023 |magazine=Variety}}

The incidents, especially West–Kardashian controversy, turned Swift's media image into a fake and calculating woman, as opposed to an authentic and down-to-earth "America's Sweetheart" image that she had carefully created.{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Nate |date=July 21, 2016 |title=When Did the Media Turn Against Taylor Swift? |url=https://www.vulture.com/2016/07/when-did-the-media-turn-against-taylor-swift.html |url-access=limited |access-date=January 3, 2023 |website=Vulture |archive-date=November 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118092408/https://www.vulture.com/2016/07/when-did-the-media-turn-against-taylor-swift.html |url-status=live}} Swift became a subject of an "IsOverParty" hashtag on Twitter, where her detractors denounced her as a "snake", influenced by Kardashian.{{Cite magazine |last=Lipshutz |first=Jason |date=August 24, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Reputation, Intact: Expect the Script to Once Again Get Flipped |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-reputation-intact-script-flipped-7941807/ |access-date=January 3, 2023 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=January 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103072428/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-reputation-intact-script-flipped-7941807/ |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine |last=Aguirre |first=Abby |date=August 8, 2019 |title=Taylor Swift on Sexism, Scrutiny, and Standing Up for Herself |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/taylor-swift-cover-september-2019 |url-status=live |magazine=Vogue |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810081937/https://www.vogue.com/article/taylor-swift-cover-september-2019?verso=true |archive-date=August 10, 2019 |access-date=August 16, 2019}} Her publicity was so negative that her victory in a sexual assault trial had minimal impact in improving her image, despite it being part of a wider, ongoing public debate about sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry.{{cite web |last=Kinbbs |first=Kate |date=August 21, 2019 |title=Ten Years of Taylor Swift: How the Pop Star Went From Sweetheart to Snake (and Back Again?) |url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2019/8/21/20826837/ten-years-of-taylor-swift |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525051120/https://www.theringer.com/music/2019/8/21/20826837/ten-years-of-taylor-swift |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |access-date=June 8, 2022 |website=The Ringer}} Swift withdrew from social media and press interviews despite a large following{{cite news |last=Yahr |first=Emily |date=November 15, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Avoided – and Mocked – the Media with Reputation. And It Worked. |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/11/15/taylor-swift-avoided-and-mocked-the-media-with-reputation-and-it-worked/?noredirect=on |access-date=November 15, 2017}} and went into a hiatus because she felt "people might need a break from [her]".{{Sfn|Wilkinson|2017|p=444}}

File:Antonoff in Tucson (cropped).jpg co-produced six Reputation tracks; his recording sessions with Swift mostly took place at his Brooklyn home studio.|alt=Jack Antonoff playing a guitar]]

During seclusion from public appearances, Swift wrote Reputation as a "defense mechanism" against the rampant media scrutiny targeting her and a means to revamp her state of mind.{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=Randy |date=May 19, 2018 |title=Even at the Rose Bowl, Taylor Swift Forges an Intimate Bond with Fans |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-taylor-swift-reputation-tour-rose-bowl-20180519-story.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=December 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209083110/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-taylor-swift-reputation-tour-rose-bowl-20180519-story.html |archive-date=December 9, 2019}}{{cite web |last=Snapes |first=Laura |date=August 24, 2019 |title=Taylor Swift: 'I Was Literally About to Break' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/aug/24/taylor-swift-pop-music-hunger-games-gladiators |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824114530/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/aug/24/taylor-swift-pop-music-hunger-games-gladiators |archive-date=August 24, 2019 |access-date=June 8, 2022 |website=The Guardian}} She said in a 2019 Rolling Stone interview that she followed the songwriting for her 2014 single "Blank Space", which satirizes the criticism targeting her for dating "too many people" in her twenties, and wrote Reputation from the perspective of a character that others believed her to be.{{cite magazine |last=Hiatt |first=Brian |date=September 30, 2019 |title=9 Taylor Swift Moments That Didn't Fit in Our Cover Story |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/taylor-swift-moments-that-couldnt-fit-in-our-cover-story-890700/ |url-status=live |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001144210/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/taylor-swift-moments-that-couldnt-fit-in-our-cover-story-890700/ |archive-date=October 1, 2019 |access-date=December 9, 2019 |url-access=limited}} In a 2023 Time interview, she described the album's creation as "a goth-punk moment of female rage at being gaslit by an entire social structure".{{Cite magazine |last=Lansky |first=Sam |author-link=Sam Lansky |date=2023-12-06 |title=Taylor Swift Is Time{{'s}} 2023 Person of the Year |url=https://time.com/6342806/person-of-the-year-2023-taylor-swift/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208023550/https://time.com/6342806/person-of-the-year-2023-taylor-swift/ |archive-date=December 8, 2023 |access-date=2023-12-06 |magazine=Time}} Although the media gossip was a major inspiration, recurring romantic themes of love and friendship that had been dominant in Swift's songwriting remained intact.{{cite magazine |last=Suskind |first=Alex |date=May 9, 2019 |title=New Reputation: Taylor Swift Shares Intel on TS7, Fan Theories, and Her Next Era |url=https://ew.com/music/2019/05/09/taylor-swift-cover-story/ |url-status=live |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812135902/https://ew.com/music/2019/05/09/taylor-swift-cover-story/ |archive-date=August 12, 2019 |access-date=October 13, 2020}} She recalled that amidst the "battle raging on" outside, she found solace in quiet moments with her loved ones and began creating a newfound private life on her own terms "for the first time" since starting her career.

Swift produced Reputation with two teams: one with Jack Antonoff and the other with Max Martin and Shellback; she had worked with all three on 1989. By engaging a smaller production group on Reputation than on 1989, she envisioned that the album would be more coherent but still "versatile enough".{{cite web |last=Mastrogiannis |first=Nicole |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's iHeartRadio reputation Release Party: Everything We Learned |url=https://961kiss.iheart.com/content/2017-11-10-taylor-swifts-iheartradio-reputation-release-party-everything-we-learned/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111152137/https://961kiss.iheart.com/content/2017-11-10-taylor-swifts-iheartradio-reputation-release-party-everything-we-learned/ |archive-date=November 11, 2017 |access-date=July 13, 2020 |publisher=iHeartMedia}} She executive produced the album and co-wrote all of its 15 tracks.{{cite AV media notes|title=Reputation|others=Taylor Swift|publisher=Big Machine Records|year=2017|type=CD liner notes|id=00843930033102}}{{Cite web |last=Lockett |first=Dee |date=November 10, 2017 |title=8 Fun Facts About Taylor Swift's Reputation |url=https://www.vulture.com/2017/11/8-fun-facts-about-taylor-swifts-reputation.html |url-access=limited |access-date=January 7, 2023 |website=Vulture |archive-date=January 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230107080455/https://www.vulture.com/2017/11/8-fun-facts-about-taylor-swifts-reputation.html |url-status=live }} Martin and Shellback co-wrote and produced nine, and Antonoff co-wrote and co-produced the remaining six, all of which were co-produced by Swift.{{Cite web |last=Willman |first=Chris |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Album Review: Taylor Swift's Reputation |url=https://variety.com/2017/music/reviews/album-review-taylor-swift-reputation-1202611695/ |access-date=January 7, 2023 |website=Variety |archive-date=January 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109063146/https://variety.com/2017/music/reviews/album-review-taylor-swift-reputation-1202611695/ |url-status=live }} Ali Payami, Oscar Görres, and Oscar Holter each co-wrote and co-produced a track with Martin and Shellback: "...Ready for It?", "So It Goes...", and "Dancing with Our Hands Tied". The track "End Game" features songwriting credits and guest appearances from the English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and the American rapper Future.{{cite web |last1=Garvey |first1=Meaghan |date=November 10, 2017 |title='End Game' [ft. Future & Ed Sheeran] by Taylor Swift Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/taylor-swift-end-game-ft-future-and-ed-sheeran/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818150521/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/taylor-swift-end-game-ft-future-and-ed-sheeran/ |archive-date=August 18, 2018 |access-date=July 25, 2020 |website=Pitchfork}}

Recording sessions with Antonoff mostly took place at his home studio in Brooklyn, with several trips to Atlanta and California for him to incorporate ideas from other producers.{{cite magazine |last=Feeney |first=Nolan |date=December 28, 2017 |title=Jack Antonoff on His Jam-Packed 2017 and the Taylor Swift Song He Calls a 'Hint at the Future' |url=https://ew.com/music/2017/12/28/jack-antonoff-taylor-swift-lorde-interview/ |url-status=live |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107225744/https://ew.com/music/2017/12/28/jack-antonoff-taylor-swift-lorde-interview/ |archive-date=November 7, 2020 |access-date=October 13, 2020}} He wanted Swift to capture her emotions at a particular time when "you can feel like you can conquer the world, or you can feel like the biggest piece of garbage that ever existed", resulting in a "very intense" record. As Swift wanted to record the album in secrecy, Antonoff kept his studio computer offline to prevent a possible internet leak and deleted the trials once the mixing and mastering finalized.{{cite web|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/jack-antonoff|title=Jack Antonoff|work=Sound on Sound|first=Tom|last=Doyle|date=January 2018|access-date=October 14, 2020|archive-date=October 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021011332/https://www.soundonsound.com/people/jack-antonoff|url-status=live}}

Primarily an electropop album,{{efn|Attributed to reviews by Greg Kot for the Chicago Tribune,{{cite web |last=Kot |first=Greg |author-link=Greg Kot |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Review: Taylor Swift Puts Reputation on Cruise Control |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/sc-ent-taylor-swift-album-review-1110-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110170746/http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/sc-ent-taylor-swift-album-review-1110-story.html |archive-date=November 10, 2017 |access-date=November 10, 2017 |website=Chicago Tribune}} Will Hodgkinson for The Times,{{cite news |last=Hodgkinson |first=Will |author-link=Will Hodgkinson |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Pop Review: Taylor Swift: Reputation |newspaper=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/music/article/pop-review-taylor-swift-reputation-stk8w7b7n |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=November 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111051506/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pop-review-taylor-swift-reputation-stk8w7b7n |archive-date=November 11, 2017}} and Ken Tucker for NPR{{Cite news |last=Tucker |first=Ken |author-link=Ken Tucker |date=November 13, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Pushes Further Into Electro-Pop With Reputation |work= |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/11/13/563738577/taylor-swift-pushes-further-into-electro-pop-with-reputation |url-status=live |access-date=October 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027212210/https://www.npr.org/2017/11/13/563738577/taylor-swift-pushes-further-into-electro-pop-with-reputation |archive-date=October 27, 2021}}}} Reputation incorporates a heavy, maximalist electronic production with EDM instrumentation and rhythms.{{efn|Attributed to reviews by Tucker, Jamieson Cox for Pitchfork, and Jason Lipshutz for Billboard{{Cite magazine |last=Lipshutz |first=Jason |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Reputation: The Pop Star Embraces Her Flaws on Her Riskiest Album Yet |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-reputation-album-review-8031184/ |access-date=January 7, 2023 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=January 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230107063158/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-reputation-album-review-8031184/ |url-status=live }}}} The melodies are characterized by abrupt dynamic shifts,{{Cite web |last=Hyden |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Hyden |date=November 13, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Reputation Is Her Angriest, Most Flawed, And Human Album |url=https://uproxx.com/music/taylor-swift-reputation-review/ |access-date=January 29, 2025 |website=Uproxx}} propulsive bass notes,{{cite magazine |last1=Greenblatt |first1=Leah |date=November 9, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Is No Longer America's Sweetheart on reputation |url=https://ew.com/music/2017/11/09/taylor-swift-reputation-ew-review/ |url-status=dead |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110091458/http://ew.com/music/2017/11/09/taylor-swift-reputation-ew-review/ |archive-date=November 10, 2017 |access-date=November 10, 2017}} pulsating synthesizers, and insistent programmed drum machines.{{Cite web |last=da Silva |first=Michelle |date=November 13, 2021 |title=Taylor Swift Has Changed for the Worse on Reputation |url=https://nowtoronto.com/music/album-reviews/taylor-swift-bad-reputation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726085446/https://nowtoronto.com/music/album-reviews/taylor-swift-bad-reputation |archive-date=July 26, 2020 |access-date=October 26, 2021 |website=Now}}{{cite web |last1=McCormick |first1=Neil |author-link=Neil McCormick |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift, Reputation, Review: 'Brash, Weaponised Pop' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/taylor-swift-reputation-review-brash-weaponised-pop/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112122928/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/taylor-swift-reputation-review-brash-weaponised-pop/?utm_source=dlvr.it |archive-date=November 12, 2017 |access-date=November 10, 2017 |website=The Daily Telegraph}} Pitchfork's Jamieson Cox described the instrumentation as "hair-raising bass drops, vacuum-cleaner synths [...], stuttering trap percussion, cyborg backing choirs". Swift's voice is heavily manipulated, either distorted or multitracked. Critics found Reputation sonically heavier, louder, and darker than its predecessor 1989{{'s}} bright synth-pop,{{cite web |last1=Cox |first1=Jamieson |date=November 13, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift: Reputation Album Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-reputation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113115407/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-reputation/ |archive-date=November 13, 2017 |access-date=November 13, 2017 |work=Pitchfork}}{{cite web |last1=Bassett |first1=Jordan |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift – Reputation Review |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/taylor-swift-reputation-album-review-2158267-2158267 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111042407/http://www.nme.com/reviews/review/taylor-swift-reputation-album-review-2158267 |archive-date=November 11, 2017 |access-date=November 10, 2017 |website=NME}} with Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph deeming it "a big, brash, all-guns-blazing blast of weaponised pop". Swift associated Reputation{{'s}} sound with imagery of "nighttime cityscape ... old warehouse buildings that had been deserted and factory spaces".

{{Listen

| filename = Don't Blame Me by Taylor Swift song sample.ogg

| title = "Don't Blame Me"

| description = "Don't Blame Me" has a gothic, gospel-influenced production with aggressive synthesizers and dubstep beats.}}

The album's first half, made up of mostly tracks produced by Martin and Shellback, is comparatively heavier in sound.{{cite news |last1=O'Connor |first1=Roisin |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift, reputation, Album Review |website=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/taylor-swift-reputation-review-album-jack-antonoff-max-martin-kanye-west-kim-future-ed-sheeran-a8047141.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=November 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110051740/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/taylor-swift-reputation-review-album-jack-antonoff-max-martin-kanye-west-kim-future-ed-sheeran-a8047141.html |archive-date=November 10, 2017}} The first four tracks—"...Ready for It?", "End Game", "I Did Something Bad", "Don't Blame Me"—are particularly aggressive.{{Cite web |last=Kornhaber |first=Spencer |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Where the Old Taylor Swift Is Hiding Within Reputation |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/11/reputation-taylor-swift-first-review/545561/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625050316/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/11/reputation-taylor-swift-first-review/545561/ |archive-date=June 25, 2018 |access-date=January 4, 2023 |website=The Atlantic}} "...Ready for It?" has an industrial production backed by a thumping bassline,{{cite web |date=September 4, 2017 |title=Is Taylor Swift's New Song, '...Ready for It?', About Tom Hiddleston? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/taylor-swifts-new-song-ready-tom-hiddleston |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905034224/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/taylor-swifts-new-song-ready-tom-hiddleston/ |archive-date=September 5, 2017 |access-date=September 4, 2017 |work=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cite news |last=Bruner |first=Raisa |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Analyzing Every Song on Taylor Swift's Reputation |url=https://time.com/5017724/taylor-swift-reputation-explained/ |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621040320/http://time.com/5017724/taylor-swift-reputation-explained/ |archive-date=June 21, 2018 |access-date=July 13, 2020 |magazine=Time}} "End Game" features sputtering trap beats,{{Cite web |last=Zoladz |first=Lindsay |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Stakes Her Reputation on Big Sounds and Petty Grievances |url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2017/11/10/16633196/taylor-swift-reputation-review |access-date=January 5, 2023 |website=The Ringer |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109041103/https://www.theringer.com/music/2017/11/10/16633196/taylor-swift-reputation-review |url-status=live }} "I Did Something Bad" is punctuated by a dubstep drop, and "Don't Blame Me" has a gothic, gospel-oriented soundscape drenched in synthesizers, dubstep beats, and vocal harmonization.{{efn|Attributed to reviews by Tucker, Monique Melendez for Spin,{{cite web |last=Melendez |first=Monique |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's 'Don't Blame Me' Is the Place Where Reputation Fully Clicks |url=https://www.spin.com/2017/11/taylor-swift-dont-blame-me-review/ |access-date=May 28, 2022 |website=Spin |archive-date=May 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528111330/https://www.spin.com/2017/11/taylor-swift-dont-blame-me-review/ |url-status=live }} and George Fenwick for The New Zealand Herald{{Cite web |last=Fenwick |first=George |date=November 16, 2017 |title=Album Review: Taylor Swift, Reputation |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/album-review-taylor-swift-reputation/2W2IFYQ64QRXI6WONMKQDI6HGM/ |access-date=January 7, 2023 |website=The New Zealand Herald |archive-date=January 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230107103022/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/album-review-taylor-swift-reputation/2W2IFYQ64QRXI6WONMKQDI6HGM/ |url-status=live }}}} "Look What You Made Me Do" uses modular synthesizers, drums, and guitars in the second pre-chorus; it incorporates an interpolation of "I'm Too Sexy" (1991) by the English band Right Said Fred.{{cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Roisin |date=November 12, 2017 |title=Jack Antonoff Interview: 'I Feel As Though I've Had a Few Lives Already' |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/jack-antonoff-interview-taylor-swift-reputation-producer-lorde-st-vincent-albums-bleachers-a8044921.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112202117/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/jack-antonoff-interview-taylor-swift-reputation-producer-lorde-st-vincent-albums-bleachers-a8044921.html |archive-date=November 12, 2017}} The power ballad "So It Goes..."{{Cite web |last=Cawley |first=Terence |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Reckons with Her Reputation |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2017/11/10/taylor-swift-reckons-with-her-reputation/6i4qH5wRRg5lzt68ioZEzJ/story.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180610033100/http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2017/11/10/taylor-swift-reckons-with-her-reputation/6i4qH5wRRg5lzt68ioZEzJ/story.html |archive-date=June 10, 2018 |access-date=June 5, 2022 |website=The Boston Globe}} has an atmospheric trap-pop production.{{Cite web |last=Graham |first=Eleanor |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's reputation Is a Microcosm of America's Explosive Political Landscape |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-reputation |access-date=January 7, 2023 |website=The Line of Best Fit |archive-date=January 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121153628/https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-reputation |url-status=live }} "King of My Heart" features surging keyboard instruments in the pre-chorus and thumping drums in the post-chorus, and "Dancing with Our Hands Tied" is instrumented with propelling beats and an EDM refrain.{{cite web |last=Empire |first=Kitty |author-link=Kitty Empire |date=November 12, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift: Reputation Review – Lust, Loss and Revenge |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/nov/12/taylor-swift-reputation-review |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206025901/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/nov/12/taylor-swift-reputation-review |archive-date=December 6, 2020 |access-date=August 20, 2020 |work=The Observer}}

The second half, mostly driven by Antonoff's 1980s-synth-pop production characterized by pulsing synthesizers and upbeat refrains,{{cite web |last=Zoladz |first=Lindsay |date=November 30, 2017 |title=The Cure for Dr. Luke? |url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2017/11/30/16720386/jack-antonoff-dr-luke-taylor-swift-kesha-pink-pop-music |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109180942/https://www.theringer.com/music/2017/11/30/16720386/jack-antonoff-dr-luke-taylor-swift-kesha-pink-pop-music |archive-date=January 9, 2018 |access-date=October 13, 2020 |work=The Ringer}} brings forth a somewhat softer, more emotional sound.{{Cite web |last=Fekadu |first=Mesfin |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Music Review: Taylor Swift's reputation Is Pure Pop Magic |url=https://apnews.com/article/c29acbc0b521419cb362e720b32ec018 |access-date=January 2, 2023 |publisher=Associated Press |archive-date=January 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102153952/https://apnews.com/article/c29acbc0b521419cb362e720b32ec018 |url-status=live }} Jon Caramanica of The New York Times described the change of tone: "in the beginning, [Swift] is indignant and barbed, but by the end she's practically cooing." "Dress" features a sultry production with stuttering beats, syncopated phrasings, swirling synthesizers, and a refrain containing falsetto vocals. "Getaway Car" and "Call It What You Want" are two atmospheric synth-pop tracks.{{cite magazine |last1=Sheffield |first1=Rob |author-link=Rob Sheffield |date=November 9, 2017 |title=Reputation Review: Taylor Swift Ditches Tabloid Drama on Most Intimate LP Yet |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/taylor-swift-reputation-sheffield-review-most-intimate-lp-w511359 |url-status=live |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110140315/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/taylor-swift-reputation-sheffield-review-most-intimate-lp-w511359 |archive-date=November 10, 2017 |access-date=November 10, 2017 |url-access=limited}}{{cite magazine |date=November 29, 2017 |title=50 Best Songs of 2017 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-songs-of-2017-w512456/taylor-swift-call-it-what-you-want-w512477 |url-status=live |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316151713/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-songs-of-2017-w512456/taylor-swift-call-it-what-you-want-w512477 |archive-date=March 16, 2018 |access-date=July 13, 2020}} The latter, produced with an Akai MPC and strings simulated by a Yamaha DX7 synthesizer,{{cite magazine |last=Iasimone |first=Ashley |date=November 5, 2017 |title=Jack Antonoff Shares Some Insight Into the Making of Taylor Swift's 'Call It What You Want' |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8023178/-taylor-swift-call-it-what-you-want-jack-antonoff-making-of-song-twitter |url-status=dead |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109101826/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8023178/-taylor-swift-call-it-what-you-want-jack-antonoff-making-of-song-twitter |archive-date=November 9, 2017 |access-date=November 14, 2017}} incorporates a subdued, trap-R&B production.{{cite web |last=Gordon |first=Jeremy |date=November 3, 2017 |title=Okay, Sure, Taylor Swift's 'Call It What You Want' Isn't So Bad |url=https://www.spin.com/2017/11/taylor-swift-call-it-what-you-want-review/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114012429/https://www.spin.com/2017/11/taylor-swift-call-it-what-you-want-review/ |archive-date=November 14, 2017 |access-date=July 13, 2020 |website=Spin}}{{cite web |last1=Hussain |first1=Shahzaib |date=November 21, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift – Reputation |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/taylor-swift-reputation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726103906/https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/taylor-swift-reputation |archive-date=July 26, 2020 |access-date=July 25, 2020 |website=Clash}} The closing track, the piano ballad "New Year's Day", is the album's only acoustic song; it was recorded on an acoustic piano in "scratch takes" that do not filter unwanted sounds from the outer environment.

{{listen

| pos = right

| filename = Delicate music Sample, 2018.ogg

| title = "Delicate"

| description = Reputation incorporates influences of many urban styles—"Delicate" incorporates a Caribbean-inflected sound, tropical house beats, and vocals processed with a vocoder, an effect that recurs throughout the album.

}}

Influences of many urban genres,{{Cite magazine |last=Battan |first=Carrie |date=November 14, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Confessions on Reputation |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/27/taylor-swifts-confessions-on-reputation |url-access=limited |access-date=January 1, 2023 |magazine=The New Yorker |ref=newyorker |archive-date=January 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101031206/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/27/taylor-swifts-confessions-on-reputation |url-status=live }} most prominently hip-hop, trap, R&B, and progressive R&B, and other subgenres including grime, tropical house, and Miami bass, coalesce on Reputation.{{efn|Attributed to reviews by Ann Powers for NPR,{{cite web |last=Powers |first=Ann |author-link=Ann Powers |date=November 10, 2019 |title=The Old Taylor's Not Dead |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/11/10/562360434/the-old-taylors-not-dead |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609090728/https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/11/10/562360434/the-old-taylors-not-dead |archive-date=June 9, 2020 |access-date=June 29, 2020 |website= |publisher=NPR}} Sal Cinquemani for Slant Magazine,{{cite web |last=Cinquemani |first=Sal |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Review: Taylor Swift, Reputation |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/taylor-swift-reputation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007203951/https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/taylor-swift-reputation/ |archive-date=October 7, 2020 |access-date=October 15, 2020 |work=Slant Magazine}} and Clayton Purdom for The A.V. Club{{cite web |last1=Purdom |first1=Clayton |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Has A Big, Drunken Night Out on Reputation |url=https://www.avclub.com/taylor-swift-has-a-big-drunken-night-out-on-reputation-1820342108 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111012639/https://www.avclub.com/taylor-swift-has-a-big-drunken-night-out-on-reputation-1820342108 |archive-date=November 11, 2017 |access-date=November 10, 2017 |website=The A.V. Club}}}} According to Caramanica, its sound is "soft-core pop-R&B" and the musical influences are rooted in black music but Swift "[softens] them enough to where [she] can credibly attempt them". Specifically, the drum patterns embrace trap influences and push Swift's vocals toward hip-hop-and-R&B-oriented cadences, showcased through a half-spoken, half-sung delivery.{{Cite web |last=Jenkins |first=Craig |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Reputation Fixates on Big Enemies and Budding Romance |url=https://www.vulture.com/2017/11/review-taylor-swifts-album-reputation.html |url-access=limited |access-date=January 2, 2023 |website=Vulture |archive-date=January 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102153952/https://www.vulture.com/2017/11/review-taylor-swifts-album-reputation.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Wilson (writer) |date=November 13, 2017 |title=On Reputation, the 'Old Taylor' Is Dead, but the New One Isn't Quite Ready to Come to the Phone |url=https://slate.com/arts/2017/11/taylor-swifts-new-album-reputation-reviewed.html |access-date=January 5, 2023 |website=Slate |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103111827/https://slate.com/arts/2017/11/taylor-swifts-new-album-reputation-reviewed.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Rayner |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Rayner |date=November 10, 2017 |title=New Album Reputation Shows Taylor Swift In Love — with the Trends |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/new-album-reputation-shows-taylor-swift-in-love-with-the-trends-review/article_62782537-7ee5-50dd-b654-935a08a14b6b.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 31, 2025 |website=The Toronto Star}} Cox found this influence to strip her vocals off their expressiveness and give them a conversational quality. Other urban influences are on such tracks as "Delicate", which incorporate a Caribbean-inflected sound and tropical house beats; "Gorgeous", which features hip-hop-trademark 808 drums and rhythms;{{cite web |last=Kornhaber |first=Spencer |date=October 20, 2017 |title='Gorgeous' Doubles Down on Taylor Swift's New Attitude |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/10/gorgeous-taylor-swift-review-hip-hop/543525/ |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107025004/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/10/gorgeous-taylor-swift-review-hip-hop/543525/ |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |access-date=October 10, 2020 |website=The Atlantic}} and "Dress", an R&B slow jam.{{cite magazine |last=Unterberger |first=Andrew |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Yes, the Best Song on Taylor Swift's Reputation Is the Slow Jam: Critic's Take |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8031203/taylor-swift-dress-reputation-best-song |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111011951/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8031203/taylor-swift-dress-reputation-best-song |archive-date=November 11, 2017 |access-date=November 11, 2017}} On tracks such as "Delicate", "Getaway Car", "King of My Heart", her vocals are processed with a vocoder, which NPR's Ann Powers attributed to the influence of rappers and R&B artists.

Swift said that Reputation consists of a linear timeline: it begins with how she felt when she started working on the album and transitions to how she felt by the time she completed it.{{Cite web |last=Reimel |first=Erin |date=November 11, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Performed a Stripped-Down Version of 'Call It What You Want' and It's So Different |url=https://www.glamour.com/story/taylor-swift-performed-a-stripped-down-version-of-call-it-what-you-want-and-its-so-different |access-date=January 8, 2023 |website=Glamour |archive-date=January 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108072925/https://www.glamour.com/story/taylor-swift-performed-a-stripped-down-version-of-call-it-what-you-want-and-its-so-different |url-status=live }} Inspired by the fantasy series Game of Thrones, she split the album into two sides; one contains songs about vengeance and drama, and the other about finding love, friendship, and "something sacred throughout all the battle cries".{{cite magazine |last=Suskind |first=Alex |date=May 9, 2019 |title=Taylor Swift Reveals How Game of Thrones (and Arya's Kill List) Inspired reputation |url=https://ew.com/music/2019/05/09/taylor-swift-game-of-thrones-reputation/ |url-status=live |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509205342/https://ew.com/music/2019/05/09/taylor-swift-game-of-thrones-reputation/ |archive-date=May 9, 2019 |access-date=May 9, 2019}} The series' characters and little hints to foreshadow the story lines, which Swift considered "cryptic", prompted her to finesse her songwriting and include "cryptic" messages through which she hoped to communicate with fans. She identified Game of Thrones influences for certain songs: "I Did Something Bad" was inspired by Sansa and Arya Stark's plot to kill Littlefinger, "Look What You Made Me Do" by Arya Stark's "kill list", and "King of My Heart" by Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo's romance.

{{Quote box

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| quote=[Reputation] was interesting because I'd never before had an album that wasn't fully understood until it was seen live. When it first came out everyone thought it was just going to be angry; upon listening to the whole thing they realized it's actually about love and friendship, and finding out what your priorities are.|author=— Swift|source=on Reputation with Entertainment Weekly, May 2019}}

Steven Hyden considered Reputation a concept album about Swift's celebrity and said it encapsulates her attention to the conversation about her.{{cite web |last=Hyden |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Hyden |date=March 10, 2021 |title=Taylor Swift's Indie Act |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/03/10/magazine/taylor-swift.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413142455/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/03/10/magazine/taylor-swift.html |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |access-date=May 2, 2021 |magazine=The New York Times}} It references alcohol and sex more than any of Swift's previous records,{{Cite news |last=Caramanica |first=Jon |author-link=Jon Caramanica |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Is a 2017 Pop Machine on Reputation, but at What Cost? |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/arts/music/taylor-swift-reputation-review.html |url-access=limited |access-date=January 3, 2023 |archive-date=January 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127090052/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/arts/music/taylor-swift-reputation-review.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Nevins |first=Jake |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Blue-Eyed Brits and Kanye Digs: Decoding Taylor Swift's Reputation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2017/nov/10/blue-eyed-brits-and-kanye-digs-decoding-taylor-swifts-reputation |access-date=January 5, 2023 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=January 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105042136/https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2017/nov/10/blue-eyed-brits-and-kanye-digs-decoding-taylor-swifts-reputation |url-status=live }} which The New York Times' Lindsay Zoladz considered her gradual and deliberate decision at 27 years old to abandon her prior youthful and innocent music and image, unlike former teenage female singers who provocatively publicize their sudden "loss of innocence".{{Cite news |last=Zoladz |first=Lindsay |date=March 9, 2021 |title=Taylor Swift and the Wisdom of Youth |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/09/arts/music/taylor-swift-folklore-youth.html |url-access=limited |access-date=January 5, 2023 |archive-date=January 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105041314/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/09/arts/music/taylor-swift-folklore-youth.html |url-status=live }} Despite the first few tracks about outright vengeance and anger, much of Reputation is about romantic themes of finding love, intimacy, and expressing one's vulnerability when one thinks they might have suffered too much to love again.{{efn|As described by such critics as Terrence Cawley for The Boston Globe, Rob Sheffield for Rolling Stone, and Alexis Petridis for The Guardian{{cite web |last1=Petridis |first1=Alexis |author-link=Alexis Petridis |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift: Reputation Review – Superb Songcraft Meets Extreme Drama |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/nov/10/taylor-swift-reputation-review-superb-songcraft-meets-extreme-drama |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110053714/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/nov/10/taylor-swift-reputation-review-superb-songcraft-meets-extreme-drama |archive-date=November 10, 2017 |access-date=November 10, 2017 |website=The Guardian}}}} For Rob Sheffield, the album is a song cycle about how one stops chasing romance and defining their life based on others' perspectives. Some critics interpreted the overarching narrative as a love story chronicling the burgeoning days, fallout, and recovery,{{efn|As described by such critics as Lipshutz, Petridis, and Chris Willman for Variety}} which Swift corroborated in a 2019 Rolling Stone interview: "The one-two punch, bait-and-switch of Reputation is that it was actually [...] a love story in amongst chaos."

Swift's image as a woman with serial romantic relationships and her defiant attitude against this reputation are recurring themes on the first tracks. Opener "...Ready for It?" has lyrics about falling in love with a new partner.{{Cite web |last=Aswad |first=Jem |date=September 3, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Releases Full Version of New Song 'Ready for It' |url=https://variety.com/2017/music/news/taylor-swift-release-full-version-of-new-song-ready-for-it-reputation-1202546332/ |access-date=January 8, 2023 |website=Variety |archive-date=January 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108071423/https://variety.com/2017/music/news/taylor-swift-release-full-version-of-new-song-ready-for-it-reputation-1202546332/ |url-status=live }} Inspired by the novel Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, it incorporates a criminal metaphor that recurs on other tracks. Swift said its mentions of bank heists, robbers, and thieves, a "twisted" but "interesting" way to depict "finding your partner in crime". In "End Game", Swift, Future, and Sheeran rap and sing about finding true love in spite of the gossip surrounding their perceived images.{{cite web |last=Josephs |first=Brian |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's 'End Game' Is Fine, But You Should Just Listen to an Actual Future Song |url=https://www.spin.com/2017/11/taylor-swift-end-game-review-future-ed-sheeran/ |access-date=January 30, 2021 |work=Spin |archive-date=August 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828122744/https://www.spin.com/2017/11/taylor-swift-end-game-review-future-ed-sheeran/ |url-status=live }} "I Did Something Bad" is narrated from the perspective of a female character who manipulates men and "Don't Blame Me" compares a love that "makes [her] crazy" to a drug addiction. Designated by Swift as Reputation{{'s}} "first point of vulnerability", "Delicate" is where the narrator begins to worry if her tarnished reputation could affect a new romance. In the song, she wonders because "[her] reputation has never been worse", the love interest must love her for herself. The album continues with "Look What You Made Me Do", which Swift initially wrote as a poem about her realizing she "couldn't trust certain people". She indicated the most important lyrics of the song as, "Oh, I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, 'cause she's dead", which reference the phone recording between her and West that Kardashian had released.

In "So It Goes...", which features sexual imagery of smeared lipstick on her lover's face and leaving scratches on his back, the narrator details how he helps her get out of her fixations and promises she will "do bad things with [him]" despite not being a "bad girl". "Gorgeous" has playful lyrics about newfound romantic attraction, where the narrator feels tempted to cheat on an existing boyfriend for another. It is followed by "Getaway Car", which uses crime scene escape imagery and a Bonnie and Clyde reference to tell the story of how the narrator leaves her former lover in a hotel room and escapes in the getaway car with a new lover.{{cite news |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Appears to Confirm She Dumped Tom Hiddleston on New Track 'Getaway Car' |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/taylor-swift-appears-confirm-dumped-tom-hiddleston-getaway-car/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 22, 2020 |archive-date=January 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110035437/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/taylor-swift-appears-confirm-dumped-tom-hiddleston-getaway-car/ |url-status=live }} "King of My Heart" is a straightforward love song in which the narrator proclaims herself as her lover's "American queen" and how the couple rules their "kingdom inside [her] room". Swift structured the song such that each of the sections (verse, pre-chorus, chorus) depicts a separate phase of a relationship, and they altogether form a complete love story. The next track, "Dancing With Our Hands Tied", describes a narrator's reflection on a past relationship when she was 25 years old and how the lover turns her bed "into a sacred oasis".{{Cite news |last=Bruton |first=Louise |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift: Reputation – Clever Songwriting, Beauty in Tiny Details |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/taylor-swift-reputation-clever-songwriting-beauty-in-tiny-details-1.3286905 |access-date=January 8, 2023 |newspaper=The Irish Times |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112030040/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/taylor-swift-reputation-clever-songwriting-beauty-in-tiny-details-1.3286905 |url-status=live }}

In "Dress", which features overtly sexual lyrics, the narrator claims that she "only bought this dress" to be taken off by her lover and how she does not "want [them] like a best friend".{{cite magazine |last=Johnston |first=Maura |author-link=Maura Johnston |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Reputation Finally Drops: 13 Surprises |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/taylor-swifts-reputation-finally-drops-13-surprises-w511436 |url-status=live |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111024539/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/taylor-swifts-reputation-finally-drops-13-surprises-w511436 |archive-date=November 11, 2017 |access-date=November 11, 2017 |url-access=limited}} "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" was inspired by Swift's observation of how people take things for granted. It references her 4th of July parties, filled with champagne and having her "feeling so Gatsby for that whole year". In the track, the narrator calls out her enemies and former friends. When she tries to get diplomatic with them ("forgiveness is a nice thing to do"), she laughs at the idea. The two closing tracks, "Call It What You Want" and "New Year's Day", summarize Swift's state of mind after she learned how to welcome and prioritize certain things in her life. In "Call It What You Want", the narrator accepts that her reputation might be unredeemable ("They took the crown but it's alright") and meditates on the transformative power of her relationship ("My baby's fly like a jetstream, high above the whole scene"). The closing track, "New Year's Day", sees the narrator and her lover cleaning up after a New Year's party. On the inspiration, Swift explained that although kissing someone on New Year's Eve is a romantic idea, having someone by one's side the morning after "to give you Advil and clean up the house" is even more so.

On August 18, 2017, Swift blanked out all of her social media accounts,{{Cite magazine |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |date=August 21, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Ends Social Media Blackout With Cryptic Reptile Tail Tease |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-ends-social-media-blackout-lizard-tail-teaser-7934240/ |access-date=January 9, 2023 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=January 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109085126/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-ends-social-media-blackout-lizard-tail-teaser-7934240/ |url-status=live }} which prompted media speculation on new music.{{Sfn|Bengtsson|Edlom|2023}} In the following days, she uploaded silent short videos of CGI snakes onto social media, which attracted widespread press attention.{{Sfn|Bengtsson|Edlom|2023}}{{Cite news |last1=Coscarelli |first1=Joe |last2=Pareles |first2=Jon |author-link2=Jon Pareles |last3=Caramanica |first3=Jon |author-link3=Jon Caramanica |last4=Morris |first4=Wesley |last5=Ganz |first5=Caryn |date=August 25, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Goes to a Darker Place: Discuss |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/arts/music/taylor-swift-look-what-you-made-me-do.html |url-access=limited |access-date=January 11, 2023 |archive-date=January 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111103201/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/arts/music/taylor-swift-look-what-you-made-me-do.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine |last=Cirisano |first=Tatiana |date=August 23, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Third Reptile-Themed Teaser Finally Reveals Snake's Face |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-snake-teaser-third-video-7940988/ |access-date=January 11, 2023 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=January 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111104119/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-snake-teaser-third-video-7940988/ |url-status=live }} Imagery of snakes was inspired by the West–Kardashian controversy and featured prominently in the album's promotional campaign.{{Cite web |last=Gaca |first=Anna |date=May 9, 2018 |title=Taylor Swift Talks 'Snakes' and Kim Kardashian at Reputation Tour Opener |url=https://www.spin.com/2018/05/taylor-swift-snake-kim-kardashian-reputation-tour-opener-video/ |access-date=January 24, 2023 |website=Spin |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124162645/https://www.spin.com/2018/05/taylor-swift-snake-kim-kardashian-reputation-tour-opener-video/ |url-status=live }} On August 23, she announced on Instagram the title Reputation and released the cover artwork.{{cite news |author=Stolworthy |first=Jacob |date=August 23, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Reputation: Singer Unveils New Album Name, Cover and Release Date |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/taylor-swift-new-album-reputation-release-date-cover-artwork-how-to-listen-stream-snakes-instagram-a7909191.html |url-status=live |url-access=registration |access-date=August 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825144025/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/taylor-swift-new-album-reputation-release-date-cover-artwork-how-to-listen-stream-snakes-instagram-a7909191.html |archive-date=August 25, 2017}} Photographed by Mert and Marcus,{{cite news |last1=Lang |first1=Cady |date=September 15, 2017 |title=Photographers Mert + Marcus Look Back on 20 Years in Fashion |magazine=Time |url=https://time.com/4938948/mert-and-marcus-interview/ |url-status=live |access-date=November 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002114620/http://time.com/4938948/mert-and-marcus-interview/ |archive-date=October 2, 2017}} the cover is a black-and-white photograph of an expressionless Swift in slicked-back hair, a loose-fitting grey sweatshirt with a zig-zag stitch on the right shoulder, and a choker necklace.{{Cite web |last=Chan |first=Stephanie |date=August 23, 2017 |title=What's Behind Taylor Swift's Edgy New Look on Her Reputation Album Cover Art? |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/style/taylor-swifts-reputation-ripped-sweatshirt-is-an-edgy-new-look-1032105/ |access-date=January 1, 2023 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |archive-date=January 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101032037/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/style/taylor-swifts-reputation-ripped-sweatshirt-is-an-edgy-new-look-1032105/ |url-status=live }} Her name is printed multiple times over one side of her face, in a typeface resembling that used in newspapers.{{Cite news |title=Taylor Swift Has a Reputation for Great Cover Art: See the Star's Record Style Through the Years |url=https://people.com/music/taylor-swift-album-covers-roundup/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201231055333/https://people.com/music/taylor-swift-album-covers-roundup/ |archive-date=December 31, 2020 |access-date=January 23, 2021 |website=People}} Media outlets interpreted the design as a mockery at the media scrutiny.{{efn|Attributed to opinions by Jake Nevins for The Guardian,{{cite web |last1=Nevins |first1=Jake |date=August 23, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Announces New Album, Reputation, for November Release |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/aug/23/taylor-swift-reputation-new-album |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107033141/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/aug/23/taylor-swift-reputation-new-album |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |access-date=November 5, 2017 |website=The Guardian}} Ludovic Hunter-Tilney for the Financial Times,{{Cite news |last=Hunter-Tilney |first=Ludovic |date=November 9, 2017 |title=What Taylor Swift Tells Us About Reputation Management |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/772137fe-c541-11e7-b30e-a7c1c7c13aab |access-date=January 1, 2023 |archive-date=January 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101163156/https://www.ft.com/content/772137fe-c541-11e7-b30e-a7c1c7c13aab |url-status=live }} and the staff for The Ringer{{Cite web |date=August 23, 2017 |title=What Is Taylor Swift Doing? |url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2017/8/23/16193036/taylor-swift-reputation-analysis |access-date=January 11, 2023 |website=The Ringer |archive-date=January 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111104352/https://www.theringer.com/music/2017/8/23/16193036/taylor-swift-reputation-analysis |url-status=live }}}} The cover inspired many internet memes and was listed among the worst album covers of 2017 by Billboard and Exclaim!.{{Cite magazine |last=Cirisano |first=Tatiana |date=December 27, 2017 |title=25 Best & Worst Album Covers of 2017 |url=https://www.billboard.com/photos/best-worst-album-covers-of-2017-top-25/ |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423085941/https://www.billboard.com/photos/8070310/best-worst-album-covers-of-2017-top-25 |archive-date=April 23, 2018 |access-date=May 22, 2022}} The latter dismissed it as a "packaging for a sickly sweet, heavily discounted celebrity fragrance you'd find on the back shelf at Shoppers Drug Mart".{{Cite web |last=Hughes |first=Josiah |date=November 27, 2017 |title=Here Are the 20 Worst Album Covers of the Year 2017 |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/here_are_the_20_worst_album_covers_of_2017 |access-date=December 31, 2022 |website=Exclaim! |archive-date=December 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231111232/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/here_are_the_20_worst_album_covers_of_2017 |url-status=live }}

Reputation{{'s}} lead single, "Look What You Made Me Do", was released on August 24.{{cite news |last=Ryan |first=Patrick |date=August 25, 2017 |title=Look What You Made Us Do: Critics Slam Taylor Swift's Comeback Single |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/08/25/look-what-you-made-us-do-critics-slam-taylor-swifts-comeback-single/602321001/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825234007/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/08/25/look-what-you-made-us-do-critics-slam-taylor-swifts-comeback-single/602321001/ |archive-date=August 25, 2017}} The single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in just its second week of charting, with the biggest single-week sales and streaming figures of 2017 in the United States{{cite magazine |last=Trust |first=Gary |date=September 5, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's 'Look What You Made Me Do' Leaps to No. 1 on Hot 100 With Top Streaming & Sales Week of 2017 |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7950114/taylor-swift-look-what-you-made-me-do-number-one-hot-100 |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905133233/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7950114/taylor-swift-look-what-you-made-me-do-number-one-hot-100 |archive-date=September 5, 2017 |access-date=September 5, 2017}} and was Swift's first number one on the UK Singles Chart;{{cite web |date=September 1, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Scores First Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart with 'Look What You Made Me Do' |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/taylor-swift-scores-first-number-1-on-the-official-singles-chart-with-look-what-you-made-me-do__20320/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015124222/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/taylor-swift-scores-first-number-1-on-the-official-singles-chart-with-look-what-you-made-me-do__20320/ |archive-date=October 15, 2019 |access-date=December 3, 2020 |publisher=Official Charts Company}} its music video broke the record for the most 24-hour views on YouTube.{{cite magazine |last=Cirisano |first=Tatiana |date=August 29, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Tops PSY's 24-Hour YouTube Record With 'Look What You Made Me Do' |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/taylor-swift-psy-youtube-24-hour-streams-record |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830193755/http://www.billboard.com/amp/articles/columns/pop/7949028/taylor-swift-psy-youtube-24-hour-streams-record |archive-date=August 30, 2017 |access-date=August 30, 2017}} Shortly after the single's release, UPS announced a partnership with Swift, which included Reputation-branded trucks and award-winning contests promoting the album across US cities.{{Cite magazine |last=Helman |first=Peter |date=August 25, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Face Is Going to Be on UPS Delivery Trucks Across the Country |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-ups-trucks-reputation-face-branded-partnership-7942081/ |access-date=January 24, 2023 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124065234/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-ups-trucks-reputation-face-branded-partnership-7942081/ |url-status=live }} Other corporate tie-ins were a Ticketmaster partnership for a concert tour; an AT&T deal for a behind-the-scenes series chronicling the making of Reputation; and a Target partnership for two deluxe album editions, each featuring an exclusive magazine with poetry, paintings, handwritten lyrics, and behind-the-scenes photography.{{Cite web |last=Framke |first=Caroline |date=August 25, 2017 |title=With Reputation, Taylor Swift Has Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Capitalism |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/8/25/16202794/taylor-swift-reputation-tour-tickets-promotion |access-date=January 24, 2023 |website=Vox |archive-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825205539/https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/8/25/16202794/taylor-swift-reputation-tour-tickets-promotion |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine |last=Armstrong |first=Megan |date=November 1, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift And AT&T Announce 'Making of a Song' Behind-the-Scenes Series |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8022152/taylor-swift-att-making-of-a-song-gorgeous |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171101195237/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8022152/taylor-swift-att-making-of-a-song-gorgeous |archive-date=November 1, 2017 |access-date=November 2, 2017}} Swift collaborated with ESPN to preview the second single, "...Ready for It?", during a college football match on September 2;{{Cite web |date=September 3, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Teases New Song, 'Ready For It', with ESPN College Football |url=https://variety.com/2017/music/news/taylor-swift-teases-ready-for-it-espn-football-1202546044/ |access-date=January 24, 2023 |website=Variety |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124070549/https://variety.com/2017/music/news/taylor-swift-teases-ready-for-it-espn-football-1202546044/ |url-status=live }} it opened at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.{{cite magazine |last=Trust |first=Gary |date=September 11, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift at Nos. 1 & 4 on Billboard Hot 100, as Cardi B Moves Up to No. 2 |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7957955/taylor-swift-hot-100-look-what-you-made-me-do-ready-for-it |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921152317/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7957955/taylor-swift-hot-100-look-what-you-made-me-do-ready-for-it |archive-date=September 21, 2017 |access-date=July 9, 2017}} Kate Knibbs of The Ringer labelled the partnerships as "maximum commercialization" and wrote, "If [Swift] was going to be a snake, she was going to be an ultracapitalist snake."

Prior to the album's release, the tracks "Gorgeous" and "Call It What You Want" were released for download and streaming as promotional singles,{{cite web |date=November 14, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift propose 'End Game' aux radios françaises, un titre partagé aver Ed Sheeran et Future |trans-title=Taylor Swift promotes 'End Game', a title featuring Ed Sheeran and Future, to French radio |url=https://www.aficia.info/actualite-musique/taylor-swift-propose-end-game-aux-radios-francaises-titre-partage-ed-sheeran-future/131857 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114224915/http://www.aficia.info/actualite-musique/taylor-swift-propose-end-game-aux-radios-francaises-titre-partage-ed-sheeran-future/131857 |archive-date=November 14, 2017 |access-date=November 17, 2017 |website=Aficia |language=French}} and the track "New Year's Day" premiered during the broadcast of an episode of ABC's Scandal. Reputation was released in various territories on digital and physical formats on November 10, 2017, by Big Machine Records.{{cite web |last=Shaw |first=Lucas |date=November 7, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Will Keep New Album From Streaming for a Week |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-07/taylor-swift-is-said-to-keep-new-album-from-streaming-for-a-week |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108000614/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-07/taylor-swift-is-said-to-keep-new-album-from-streaming-for-a-week |archive-date=November 8, 2017 |access-date=November 7, 2017 |publisher=Bloomberg L.P.}} Although the streaming provider Spotify initially promoted Reputation on its playlists and commercial billboards, Swift and Big Machine kept the album off streaming platforms until December 1.{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/e9458168-ce7a-11e7-b781-794ce08b24dc|title=Taylor Swift's Reputation Album Sales Defy Streaming Trend|last=Nicolaou|first=Anna|date=November 21, 2017|website=Financial Times|access-date=March 28, 2023|archive-date=March 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328163531/https://www.ft.com/content/e9458168-ce7a-11e7-b781-794ce08b24dc|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine |last1=Stutz |first1=Colin |date=November 30, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Reputation Finally Headed for Streaming Services on Friday: Sources |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8054705/taylor-swift-reputation-streaming-services-friday |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201010907/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8054705/taylor-swift-reputation-streaming-services-friday |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |access-date=November 30, 2017}} Throughout late 2017 and early 2018, a string of singles were released to support the album: "End Game" was released to French radio by Mercury Records on November 14,{{Cite web |date=November 14, 2017 |title='End Game' : Taylor Swift choisit son titre avec Ed Sheeran et Future pour la France |trans-title='End Game': Taylor Swift Chooses Her Song with Ed Sheeran and Future for France |url=https://www.chartsinfrance.net/Taylor-Swift/news-105527.html |access-date=January 24, 2023 |website=Charts in France |language=French |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124160540/https://www.chartsinfrance.net/Taylor-Swift/news-105527.html |url-status=live }} "New Year's Day" impacted US country radio on November 27,{{cite magazine |last1=Trust |first1=Gary |last2=Asker |first2=Jim |date=November 14, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's 'New Year's Day' Goes to Country Radio: Is Country Ready for It? |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/8039304/taylor-swift-new-years-day-reputation-country-radio |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205104854/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/8039304/taylor-swift-new-years-day-reputation-country-radio |archive-date=December 5, 2017 |access-date=November 17, 2017}} and "Delicate" was released to US pop radio on March 12.{{cite magazine |last=Trust |first=Gary |date=March 23, 2018 |title=Hot 100 Chart Moves: Bad Wolves Bring Back The Cranberries' 'Zombie' & Taylor Swift Hits a Milestone |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8257716/bad-wolves-zombie-taylor-swift-delicate-hot-100-chart-moves |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206014448/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8257716/bad-wolves-zombie-taylor-swift-delicate-hot-100-chart-moves |archive-date=February 6, 2021 |access-date=February 5, 2021 |url-access=subscription}} The last of which was the album's most successful radio single, peaking atop three Billboard airplay charts: Pop Songs, Adult Pop Songs, and Adult Contemporary.{{cite magazine |last=Trust |first=Gary |date=September 11, 2018 |title=Taylor Swift's 'Delicate' Hits No. 1 on Adult Contemporary Chart |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8474633/taylor-swift-delicate-adult-contemporary-chart-number-one |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109033839/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8474633/taylor-swift-delicate-adult-contemporary-chart-number-one |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 9, 2021}}

Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums, including Reputation, in November 2020. This decision followed a 2019 dispute between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records and the masters of Swift's albums.{{Cite news |date=August 22, 2019 |title=Taylor Swift Wants to Re-Record Her Old Hits |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-49432817 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822202321/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-49432817 |archive-date=August 22, 2019 |access-date=June 1, 2025 |publisher=BBC News}} Re-recording them would enable her to have full licensing rights of her songs for commercial use.{{Sfn|Klein|2023}} On May 30, 2025, the dispute ended with Swift acquiring the masters to those albums;{{Cite magazine |last=Schneider |first=Marc |date=May 30, 2025 |title=Taylor Swift Buys Back Her Masters From Shamrock, Reclaiming Her First Six Albums |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/taylor-swift-regains-control-master-recordings-shamrock/ |access-date=May 30, 2025 |magazine=Billboard}} the re-recorded version of Reputation had not been completed by that point.{{Cite web |last=Willman |first=Chris |date=2025-05-30 |title=Taylor Swift Shocker: Singer Buys Back and Will Reissue First Six Albums — Even as Reputation (Taylor's Version) 'Can Still Have a Moment to Reemerge' Later |url=https://variety.com/2025/music/news/taylor-swift-buys-rights-first-six-albums-shamrock-1236413964/ |access-date=2025-06-01 |website=Variety}}

File:Taylor Swift - Reputation Tour Seattle - Getaway Car.jpg in 2018|alt=Taylor Swift performing while dressed in a black dress]]

Although Swift had actively promoted albums with extensive press interviews and television appearances, she opted out of such a campaign for Reputation.{{Cite web |last=Coscarelli |first=Joe |date=November 9, 2017 |title=How Taylor Swift Is Using Tumblr to Create a Safe Space with Her Fans |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/taylor-swift-tumblr-safe-space-fans-posts-reputation-album-release-social-media-a8045511.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 1, 2023 |website=The Independent |archive-date=February 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204001728/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/taylor-swift-tumblr-safe-space-fans-posts-reputation-album-release-social-media-a8045511.html |url-status=live }} She instead held exclusive secret album-listening sessions within one month in advance for fans selected from social media by herself, hosting them at her homes in Rhode Island, Los Angeles, London, and Nashville. The secret sessions were reserved for 500 fans in total; behind-the-scenes footage was released on Good Morning America on November 7, 2017.{{cite news |last=Thorbecke |first=Catherine |date=November 7, 2017 |title=Exclusive 1st Look Inside Taylor Swift's Secret Sessions for Reputation |publisher=ABC |url=https://abcnews.go.com/story?id=50973344 |url-status=dead |access-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107221308/http://abcnews.go.com/story?id=50973344 |archive-date=November 7, 2017}} She appeared on the cover for British Vogue, for which she appointed her own photographers and published a self-written poem instead of giving an interview.{{Cite web |last=Martinson |first=Jane |author-link=Jane Martinson |date=December 10, 2017 |title=Take Back Control: Taylor Swift Shows the Media How It's Done |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2017/dec/10/take-back-control-taylor-swift-shows-the-media-how-its-done |access-date=January 3, 2023 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210034646/https://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2017/dec/10/take-back-control-taylor-swift-shows-the-media-how-its-done |url-status=live }} In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music in May 2019, Swift said she turned down interviews because she felt no need to explain the album and used music as the only medium to convey her thoughts and feelings.{{cite news |last=Lindsay |first=Kathryn |date=May 2, 2019 |title=Taylor Swift's Low-Key Days Are Officially Over |magazine=Refinery29 |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/05/231504/taylor-swift-explains-reputation-silence |url-status=live |access-date=January 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010090244/https://www.refinery29.com/amp/en-us/2019/05/231504/taylor-swift-explains-reputation-silence |archive-date=October 10, 2019}} On the title's all lowercase styling, she said it was because the album "wasn't unapologetically commercial"—that it "took the most amount of explanation, and yet it's the one [she] didn't talk about".

Within Reputation{{'s}} first release week, Swift performed on Saturday Night Live ("...Ready for It?", "Call It What You Want") and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ("New Year's Day").{{Cite magazine |last=Stubblebine |first=Allison |date=December 18, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's 2017: The Timeline |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-2017-timeline-8070261/ |access-date=January 25, 2023 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125122513/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-2017-timeline-8070261/ |url-status=live }} She embarked on the Reputation Stadium Tour, which kicked off on May 8, 2018, in Glendale, Arizona and featured supporting acts such as Charli XCX and Camila Cabello.{{Cite magazine |last=Enos |first=Morgan |date=May 7, 2018 |title=A Rough Guide to Taylor Swift's Tours to Date |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-tour-guide-reputation-8454592/ |access-date=January 24, 2023 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=September 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929072259/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-tour-guide-reputation-8454592/ |url-status=live }} The tour's visual and stage settings incorporated prominent snakes imagery.{{Cite magazine |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |author-link=Rob Sheffield |date=December 31, 2018 |title=Taylor Swift's Reputation Film Shows Why She's One of the All-Time Greats |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/taylor-swift-reputation-movie-netflix-773838/ |url-access=limited |access-date=January 25, 2023 |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-date=January 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127202337/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/taylor-swift-reputation-movie-netflix-773838/ |url-status=live }} It encompassed 53 shows across four continents and wrapped up on November 21, 2018, in Tokyo, Japan.{{Cite web |last=Roth |first=Madeline |date=November 21, 2018 |title=Taylor Swift Gets Emotional As She Says Goodbye to Her Reputation Tour |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/z8fi63/taylor-swift-ends-reputation-tour-tokyo-speeches |access-date=January 24, 2023 |publisher=MTV News |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124163444/https://www.mtv.com/news/z8fi63/taylor-swift-ends-reputation-tour-tokyo-speeches |url-status=dead }} The track "Getaway Car" was released as an Australasia-exclusive single to support the Oceanic leg of the Reputation tour in October and November.{{cite web |date=September 10, 2018 |title=Uncharted: Taylor Swift Prepares for Aus Tour with Next Radio Single |url=https://themusicnetwork.com/uncharted-taylor-swift-prepares-for-aus-tour-with-next-radio-single/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723170231/https://themusicnetwork.com/uncharted-taylor-swift-prepares-for-aus-tour-with-next-radio-single/ |archive-date=July 23, 2019 |access-date=May 7, 2019 |work=The Music Network}} On completion of its 38-show North American leg, with $266.1 million grosed, it surpassed the Rolling Stones' 70-show US leg of their A Bigger Bang Tour ($245 million; 2005–2007) to become the all-time highest-grossing North American tour.{{cite news |last=Frankenburg |first=Eric |date=November 30, 2018 |title=Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour Breaks Record for Highest-Grossing U.S. Tour |magazine=Billboard |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8487606/taylor-swift-reputation-stadium-tour-breaks-record-highest-grossing-us-tour |access-date=February 15, 2020 |archive-date=December 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201062855/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8487606/taylor-swift-reputation-stadium-tour-breaks-record-highest-grossing-us-tour |url-status=live }} In total, the Reputation Stadium Tour grossed $345.7 million, according to Billboard Boxscore.{{Cite magazine |last=Frankenberg |first=Eric |date=December 6, 2018 |title=Taylor Swift Closes Reputation Stadium Tour with $345 Million |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/taylor-swift-reputation-stadium-tour-345-million/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 25, 2023 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125055955/https://www.billboard.com/pro/taylor-swift-reputation-stadium-tour-345-million/ |url-status=live }} The second show at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, was recorded and released as a Netflix exclusive on December 31, 2018.

In the United States, Reputation sold 700,000 copies after one day of availability{{cite magazine |last=Caulfield |first=Keith |date=November 11, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Reputation Sold 700,000 on First Day in U.S. |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8031321/taylor-swift-reputation-sold-700000-first-day-nielsen-music-big-machine-records |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111234014/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8031321/taylor-swift-reputation-sold-700000-first-day-nielsen-music-big-machine-records |archive-date=November 11, 2017 |access-date=November 11, 2017}} and 1.05 million after four days.{{cite magazine |last=Caulfield |first=Keith |date=November 14, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Reputation Sold 1.05M Copies in First Four Days in US, Now 2017's Top Selling Album |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8038287/taylor-swift-reputation-sold-105-million-copies-first-four-days |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171125140853/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8038287/taylor-swift-reputation-sold-105-million-copies-first-four-days |archive-date=November 25, 2017 |access-date=November 14, 2017}} It opened at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week figures of 1.238 million album-equivalent units that consisted of 1.216 million pure sales, a figure that was higher than all other albums on the chart that week combined.{{cite magazine |last=Levine |first=Robert |date=November 22, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Schools the Music Industry Once Again, While Streaming Services Wring Their Hands |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8046278/taylor-swift-streaming-services-reputation-music-industry-analysis |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130163201/https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8046278/taylor-swift-streaming-services-reputation-music-industry-analysis |archive-date=November 30, 2017 |access-date=November 22, 2017 |magazine=Billboard}} In doing so, it immediately became the best-selling album of 2017 in the United States.{{Cite web |last=Patrick |first=Ryan |last2=McDermott |first2=Maeve |date=November 21, 2017 |title=How Taylor Swift's Reputation Beat Streaming to Become 2017's Best-Selling Album |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2017/11/21/how-taylor-swifts-reputation-beat-streaming-become-2017-best-selling-album/885170001/ |access-date=January 29, 2025 |website=USA Today}}{{cite magazine |last=Caulfield |first=Keith |date=January 3, 2018 |title=Ed Sheeran's Divide Is Nielsen Music's Top Album of 2017 in U.S. |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8085932/ed-sheeran-divide-nielsen-music-top-album-2017 |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227232707/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8085932/ed-sheeran-divide-nielsen-music-top-album-2017 |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |access-date=July 17, 2019}} Reputation made Swift the first artist to have four albums each sell more than a million copies within one week since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.{{cite magazine |last=Caulfield |first=Keith |date=November 20, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Reputation Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8039679/taylor-swift-reputation-debuts-no-1-billboard-200-albums |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227080725/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8039679/taylor-swift-reputation-debuts-no-1-billboard-200-albums |archive-date=December 27, 2019 |access-date=November 20, 2017}} The strong sales of Reputation contributed to an ongoing debate about the impact of streaming on album sales, although it was eventually made available for streaming three weeks after its initial release.{{Cite web |last=Sutherland |first=Mark |date=December 5, 2017 |title=Enhanced Reputation: Inside the Numbers for Taylor Swift's Big Streaming Debut |url=https://www.musicweek.com/digital/read/enhanced-reputation-inside-the-numbers-for-taylor-swift-s-big-streaming-debut/070727 |access-date=January 29, 2025 |website=Music Week}} The album spent four non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200{{cite magazine |last=Caulfield |first=Keith |date=December 31, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Reputation Returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200, Huncho Jack Debuts at No. 3 |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8085631/taylor-swift-reputation-returns-to-no-1-on-billboard-200-album-chart-huncho-jack |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101010321/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8085631/taylor-swift-reputation-returns-to-no-1-on-billboard-200-album-chart-huncho-jack |archive-date=January 1, 2018 |access-date=December 31, 2017}} and topped the 2018 Billboard 200 Year-End chart.{{Cite magazine |last=Caulfield |first=Keith |date=December 4, 2018 |title=The Year in Charts 2018: Drake Is Top Artist & Taylor Swift's Reputation Is Biggest Album of the Year |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/drake-top-artist-taylor-swift-reputation-top-album-2018/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 25, 2023 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125055957/https://www.billboard.com/pro/drake-top-artist-taylor-swift-reputation-top-album-2018/ |url-status=live }} It was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in December 2017 and had sold 2.478 million copies in the United States by January 2024.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/taylor-swift-1989-taylors-version-2-million-sales-1235584599/ |title=Taylor Swift's 1989 (Taylor's Version) Surpasses 2 Million in U.S. Sales |last=Caulfield |first=Keith |magazine=Billboard |date=January 18, 2024 |access-date=January 19, 2024 |archive-date=January 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118235246/https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/taylor-swift-1989-taylors-version-2-million-sales-1235584599/ |url-status=live }}

Reputation sold two million copies worldwide within one week of release and was the world's second-best-selling album of 2017 (behind Ed Sheeran's ÷), with 4.5 million copies sold.{{cite web |title=Global Music Report 2018 |url=https://www.ifpi.org/downloads/GMR2018.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424202534/http://www.ifpi.org/downloads/GMR2018.pdf |archive-date=April 24, 2018 |access-date=June 8, 2018 |publisher=International Federation of the Phonographic Industry |page=9}} In the English-speaking world, Reputation reached number one and was certified multi-platinum in Australia (five-times platinum),{{Cite web |date=November 18, 2017 |title=Reputation Gives Taylor Swift Fourth #1 Album |url=https://www.aria.com.au/charts/news/reputation-gives-taylor-swift-fourth-1-album |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118165931/https://www.aria.com.au/charts/news/reputation-gives-taylor-swift-fourth-1-album |archive-date=January 18, 2022 |access-date=January 25, 2022 |publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association}} New Zealand (five-times platinum), and the United Kingdom (triple platinum),{{cite web |last1=Copsey |first1=Rob |date=November 17, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Claims Her Third Number 1 in the UK |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/taylor-swift-claims-her-third-number-1-on-the-official-albums-chart__21040/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118072730/http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/taylor-swift-claims-her-third-number-1-on-the-official-albums-chart__21040/ |archive-date=November 18, 2017 |access-date=November 17, 2017 |publisher=Official Charts Company}} and it also reached number one in Ireland and Canada.{{cite web |date=November 20, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Reputation Is Now A Platinum Album |url=https://fyimusicnews.ca/articles/2017/11/20/taylor-swifts-reputation-now-platinum-album |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123084343/http://www.fyimusicnews.ca/articles/2017/11/20/taylor-swifts-reputation-now-platinum-album |archive-date=November 23, 2017 |access-date=November 20, 2017 |work=FYIMusicNews}} In mainland Europe, the album peaked atop the charts in Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Greece, Spain, and Switzerland. It was certified platinum in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden; and double platinum in Denmark and Poland. In Asia–Pacific, Reputation was certified platinum in Singapore and gold in Japan, and it became one of the best-selling digital albums in China with one million copies sold as of September 2019.{{cite news |last=Oakes |first=Tara |date=August 30, 2019 |title=Taylor Swift's Lover Album Breaks New Record in China |publisher=Reuters |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Gareth |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-music-taylorswift-china/taylor-swifts-lover-album-breaks-new-record-in-china-idUKKCN1VK17J |url-status=dead |access-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830105858/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-music-taylorswift-china/taylor-swifts-lover-album-breaks-new-record-in-china-idUKKCN1VK17J |archive-date=August 30, 2019}}

{{Music ratings

| title = Reputation ratings

| ADM = 6.6/10{{cite web|title=reputation by Taylor Swift reviews|url=https://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/9035/Taylor-Swift-reputation.aspx|publisher=AnyDecentMusic?|access-date=October 24, 2022|archive-date=January 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104091954/http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/9035/Taylor-Swift-reputation.aspx|url-status=bot: unknown}}

| MC = 71/100{{cite web|title=reputation by Taylor Swift Reviews and Tracks|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/reputation/taylor-swift|publisher=Metacritic|access-date=November 10, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112122928/http://www.metacritic.com/music/reputation/taylor-swift|archive-date=November 12, 2017}}

| subtitle = Contemporaneous reviews

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|last1=Erlewine|first1=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/reputation-mw0003100199|title=reputation – Taylor Swift|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=November 21, 2017|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201031033/https://www.allmusic.com/album/reputation-mw0003100199|url-status=live}}

| rev2 = The A.V. Club

| rev2score = B

| rev3 = The Daily Telegraph

| rev3Score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev4 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev4Score = B

| rev5 = The Guardian

| rev5Score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev6 = NME

| rev6Score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev7 = Pitchfork

| rev7Score = 6.5/10

| rev8 = Q

| rev8Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine|last1=Lynskey|first1=Dorian|title=Status Report|magazine=Q|issue=380|date=January 2018|page=112}}

| rev9 = Rolling Stone

| rev9Score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev10 = Slant Magazine

| rev10Score = {{rating|4|5}}

}}

Upon its release, Reputation received positive but often polarized reviews from critics. The album earned a weighted average score of 71 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 28 reported reviews.{{Cite web |last=Bryant |first=Kenzie |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's Reputation Is a Hit with Critics |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/11/taylor-swift-reputation-reviews-critical-response |access-date=January 1, 2023 |website=Vanity Fair |archive-date=February 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207215612/https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/11/taylor-swift-reputation-reviews-critical-response |url-status=live }}

Many critics praised Swift's personal lyricism and songwriting depicting vulnerability and intimacy despite the first impressions of a vindictive record.{{Cite magazine |last=Brown |first=Eric Renner |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Reputation Reviews Praise Taylor Swift's Personal Lyricism |url=https://ew.com/music/2017/11/10/taylor-swift-reputation-reviews/ |access-date=December 30, 2022 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-date=December 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230092205/https://ew.com/music/2017/11/10/taylor-swift-reputation-reviews/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=McDermott |first=Maeve |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift Reputation: Here's What Critics Are Saying |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/11/10/taylor-swift-reputation-heres-what-critics-saying/851566001/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304061459/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/11/10/taylor-swift-reputation-heres-what-critics-saying/851566001/ |archive-date=March 4, 2020 |access-date=October 15, 2020 |work=USA Today}} Reviews by Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani, McCormick, and Sheffield appreciated Reputation for exploring vulnerable sentiments beneath the surface of fame and celebrity. Petridis found the celebrity-inspired, dramatic themes tiring, but lauded the album as "a masterclass in pop songwriting" about love and romance. The Independent{{'s}} Roisin O'Connor and Vulture's Craig Jenkins both regarded Reputation as a showcase of Swift's both vindictive and vulnerable sides; the former lauded it for displaying Swift's talents capturing emotional details "that you as a listener cannot". In The A.V. Club, Clayton Purdom appreciated how, despite Swift's embrace of modern styles, her lyrical narrative retains its distinctive romantic nature since her 2008 single, "Love Story".

The production received mixed reviews. In an outright negative review, Geoff Nelson of Consequence gave the album a D+ rating and called it a "bloated, moving disaster".{{cite web |last1=Nelson |first1=Geoff |date=November 10, 2017 |title=Album Review: Taylor Swift – Reputation |url=https://consequence.net/2017/11/album-review-taylor-swift-reputation/ |url-status=live |access-date=November 10, 2017 |website=Consequence |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413002652/https://consequence.net/2017/11/album-review-taylor-swift-reputation/ }} For Nelson, the album found Swift adopting black-music styles and African-American Vernacular English, a "reflection of a wider cultural problem". Some reviewers agreed that Reputation{{'s}} black-music influences were controversial and a probable case of cultural appropriation,{{efn|Attributed to reviews by Kitty Empire for The Observer, Fenwick, and Powers}} but Caramanica welcomed them as a sign of Swift embracing modern pop-music trends.

Cinquemani called it a good pop album but found it blemished at times by "tired, repetitive EDM tricks", and Pitchfork's Jamieson Cox lamented how Swift's lyrical craftsmanship was overshadowed by what he deemed a conventional and unoriginal production. The Boston Globe's Terrence Cawley and Billboard{{'s}} Jason Lipshutz identified some stylistics missteps but said the experiments were worthwhile and made an enjoyable listen. The Associated Press's Meskin Fekadu and Variety's Chris Willman hailed Reputation as an outstanding pop album; the latter lauded the balance between Swift's singer-songwriter lyrical strengths and the "up-to-the-second rhythmic pop" of mainstream music.

Reputation featured on several publications' lists of the best albums of 2017, ranking on such lists by Time (fifth),{{cite news |last=Bruner |first=Raisa |date=December 4, 2017 |title=The Top 10 Albums of 2017 |magazine=Time |url=https://time.com/5034987/best-albums-2017/ |url-status=live |access-date=December 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204200739/http://time.com/5034987/best-albums-2017/ |archive-date=December 4, 2017}} Rolling Stone (seventh),{{cite magazine |date=November 27, 2017 |title=50 Best Albums of 2017 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-albums-of-2017-w511763/taylor-swift-reputation-w511770 |url-status=live |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130154240/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-albums-of-2017-w511763/taylor-swift-reputation-w511770 |archive-date=November 30, 2017 |access-date=November 28, 2017}} Slant Magazine (17th),{{cite web |date=December 6, 2017 |title=The 25 Best Albums of 2017 |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/the-25-best-albums-of-2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213010820/https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/the-25-best-albums-of-2017 |archive-date=December 13, 2017 |access-date=December 6, 2017 |website=Slant Magazine}} The Independent (19),{{cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Roisin |date=November 27, 2017 |title=The 30 Best Albums of 2017 |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/best-albums-2017-loyle-carner-lorde-kendrick-lamar-taylor-swift-stormzy-j-hus-lists-a8071516.html |url-status=live |url-access=registration |access-date=November 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171128002431/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/best-albums-2017-loyle-carner-lorde-kendrick-lamar-taylor-swift-stormzy-j-hus-lists-a8071516.html |archive-date=November 28, 2017}} Complex (26th),{{cite web |last=Klinkenberg |first=Brendan |date=December 16, 2017 |title=The Best Albums of 2017 |url=https://www.complex.com/music/best-albums-2017/taylor-swift-reputation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216034940/http://www.complex.com/music/best-albums-2017/taylor-swift-reputation |archive-date=December 16, 2017 |access-date=December 18, 2017 |website=Complex}} NME (31st),{{cite web |date=November 23, 2017 |title=NME's Albums of the Year 2017 |url=https://www.nme.com/list/nmes-albums-of-the-year-2017-2161481 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427132703/https://www.nme.com/list/nmes-albums-of-the-year-2017-2161481 |archive-date=April 27, 2019 |access-date=November 28, 2017 |work=NME}} and Spin (48th).{{cite web |date=December 18, 2017 |title=50 Best Albums of 2017 |url=https://www.spin.com/featured/50-best-albums-2017/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221193553/https://www.spin.com/featured/50-best-albums-2017/ |archive-date=December 21, 2017 |access-date=December 18, 2017 |website=Spin}} On the mass critics' poll Pazz & Jop coordinated by The Village Voice, the album ranked at number 71 out of the 100 albums voted as the best of 2017.{{cite web |date=January 22, 2018 |title=Pazz & Jop: It's Kendrick's and Cardi's World. We're Just Living in It |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/01/22/pazz-jop-the-top-albums-and-singles-of-2017/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072930/https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/01/22/pazz-jop-the-top-albums-and-singles-of-2017/ |archive-date=January 23, 2018 |access-date=January 22, 2018 |website=The Village Voice}} On individual critics' lists, it appeared on those by Sheffield (second),{{cite magazine |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |author-link=Rob Sheffield |date=December 20, 2017 |title=Rob Sheffield's Top Albums of 2017 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/rob-sheffields-top-20-albums-of-2017-199192/ |url-status=live |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102185603/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/rob-sheffields-top-20-albums-of-2017-199192/ |archive-date=January 2, 2020 |access-date=January 2, 2020}} Caramanica (fifth),{{cite news |last1=Pareles |first1=Jon |author-link=Jon Pareles |last2=Caramanica |first2=Jon |author-link2=Jon Caramanica |last3=Russonello |first3=Giovanni |date=December 6, 2017 |title=The Best Albums of 2017 |website=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/arts/music/best-albums-2017.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=December 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206203918/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/arts/music/best-albums-2017.html |archive-date=December 6, 2017}} and Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times (unranked).{{cite web |last=Wood |first=Mikael |date=December 15, 2017 |title=Mikael Wood's Top 10 Albums of 2017 |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-ca-ms-year-end-wood-top-10-story.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102185604/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-ca-ms-year-end-wood-top-10-story.html |archive-date=January 2, 2020 |access-date=January 2, 2020 |website=Los Angeles Times}} On Slant Magazine{{'s}} list of the best 2010s-decade album published in 2019, Reputation ranked at number 88.{{cite magazine |date=December 20, 2019 |title=The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/the-100-best-albums-of-the-2010s/ |url-status=live |magazine=Slant Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101105028/https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/the-100-best-albums-of-the-2010s/ |archive-date=January 1, 2020 |access-date=December 26, 2019}}

At industry awards held in 2018, the album won an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album,{{Cite web |last=France |first=Lisa Respers |date=October 10, 2018 |title=See All the American Music Awards Winners |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/09/entertainment/american-music-awards-winners-list/index.html |access-date=January 25, 2023 |publisher=CNN |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125120540/https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/09/entertainment/american-music-awards-winners-list/index.html |url-status=live }} a Billboard Music Award for Top Selling Album,{{cite magazine |date=May 20, 2018 |title=Here Are All the Winners From the 2018 Billboard Music Awards |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/bbma/8456842/billboard-music-awards-2018-winners-list-bbmas |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127221441/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/bbma/8456842/billboard-music-awards-2018-winners-list-bbmas |archive-date=January 27, 2020 |access-date=May 21, 2018}} a Libera Award for Independent Impact Album,{{cite magazine |last1=Christman |first1=Ed |date=June 22, 2018 |title=Slowdive's Comeback Album Wins Top Prize at A2IM's Libera Awards; Epitaph Founder Honored |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8462369/a2im-libera-awards-winners-2018 |url-status=live |magazine=Billboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717121250/https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8462369/a2im-libera-awards-winners-2018 |archive-date=July 17, 2018 |access-date=July 9, 2018}} and a Japan Gold Disc Award for Best 3 Albums (Western).{{cite web |date=March 2, 2018 |title=The Japan Gold Disc Award 2018 Winners Announced |url=https://aramajapan.com/aramaexclusive/featured/winners-japan-gold-disc-award-2018-announced/85860/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018053129/http://aramajapan.com/aramaexclusive/featured/winners-japan-gold-disc-award-2018-announced/85860/ |archive-date=October 18, 2018 |access-date=October 18, 2018 |website=Arama!}} It received nominations including an ARIA Music Award nomination for Best International Artist,{{cite web |title=ARIA Awards 2018 |url=https://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/year/2018?view=list |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710142114/https://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/year/2018?view=list |archive-date=July 10, 2020 |access-date=May 25, 2020 |publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association}} a Billboard Music Award nomination for Top Billboard 200 Album, and a Juno Award nomination for International Album of the Year.{{cite news |last1=Vlessing |first1=Etan |date=February 7, 2018 |title=Juno Awards: Arcade Fire, Jessie Reyez Lead With Four Nominations |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/juno-awards-2018-nominees-complete-list-1081066 |url-status=live |access-date=May 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522041519/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/juno-awards-2018-nominees-complete-list-1081066 |archive-date=May 22, 2018}} At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Reputation was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album,{{Cite web |date=December 7, 2018 |title=2019 Grammys: The Full List of Winners and Nominees |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/grammy-2019-winners-nominations |url-access=limited |access-date=January 25, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125120541/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/grammy-2019-winners-nominations |url-status=live }} with several publications viewing the lack of a nomination for Album of the Year or any other category as being a snub.{{cite web |last1=McDermott |first1=Maeve |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2018/12/07/justice-taylor-swift-why-her-shocking-grammys-snub-unfair/2237196002/ |title=Justice for Taylor Swift: Why her surprising Grammys snub is unfair |website=USA Today |date=December 7, 2018 |access-date=December 7, 2018}}{{cite magazine |last1=Spanos |first1=Brittany |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-reputation-grammys-snub-764008/ |title=Taylor Swift's 'Reputation' Is Grammys' Biggest Snub |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=December 7, 2018 |access-date=December 7, 2018 |archive-date=December 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208132356/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-reputation-grammys-snub-764008/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Chen |first1=Joyce |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/12/218933/taylor-swift-dominates-spotify-billboard-radio-streaming-2019 |title=Even If The Grammys Didn't Love Taylor Swift's Reputation, Everyone Else Did |website=Refinery29 |date=December 8, 2018 |access-date=December 8, 2018}} The album's packaging and design won two awards from the American Advertising Federation.{{Cite web |title=2019 American Advertising Awards (PDF) |url=https://www.aafdistrict7.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/AAFD7_2019WinnersBook_Edits052919.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614141101/https://www.aafdistrict7.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/AAFD7_2019WinnersBook_Edits052919.pdf |archive-date=June 14, 2021 |access-date=June 14, 2021}}

Released amidst negative press and after Swift's hiatus, Reputation was regarded by several journalists as her comeback.{{cite web |title=Everything We Know about Taylor Swift's Comeback |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5pbNvfSkRR4fp5T7CmNLr86/everything-we-know-about-taylor-swifts-comeback |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327194122/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5pbNvfSkRR4fp5T7CmNLr86/everything-we-know-about-taylor-swifts-comeback |archive-date=March 27, 2020 |access-date=July 3, 2020 |publisher=BBC}} Some critics interpreted the release during the Donald Trump presidency as a political statement—whereas many celebrities voiced their opposition to Trump's controversial policies, Swift's inaction during the 2016 presidential election was highlighted in the press as a shocking phenomenon.{{Cite web |date=November 24, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift: An Envoy for Trump's Values? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/24/the-guardian-view-on-taylor-swift-an-envoy-for-trumps-values |access-date=January 25, 2023 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106150835/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/24/the-guardian-view-on-taylor-swift-an-envoy-for-trumps-values |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Kranc |first=Lauren |date=November 10, 2020 |title=Three Years After reputation It's Time to Accept It As Taylor Swift's Best Album |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/a34622864/reputation-taylor-swift-best-album-anniversary-essay/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223215240/https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/a34622864/reputation-taylor-swift-best-album-anniversary-essay/ |archive-date=February 23, 2022 |access-date=February 23, 2022 |work=Esquire}} Detractors denounced her as aloof and tone-deaf to contemporary political landscape, with a Guardian editorial dubbing her an "envoy" for Trump's values.{{sfn|Canavan|McCamley|2020|p=226}} The Guardian{{'s}} Laura Snapes observed Swift's silence, coupled with the celebrity controversies, considerably damaged her status as a "peerless pop princess".{{Cite news |last=Snapes |first=Laura |date=November 9, 2017 |title=Taylor Swift's reputation: Will Her New Album Silence Her Critics? |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/nov/09/taylor-swift-reputation-can-new-album-save-her-name |access-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-date=March 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328164918/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/nov/09/taylor-swift-reputation-can-new-album-save-her-name |url-status=live }}

According to Hyden, the album was released amidst a "moral apocalypse" in the entertainment industry, when sexual assault against females was being "re-contextualized in the popular consciousness as expressions of dominance and humiliation". Nonetheless, her inclusion as one of the "Silence Breakers"—a group of six women who publicly spoke out against sexual misconduct—for the cover of Time 2017's People of the Year was criticized by some who disdained her "spineless feminism and political passivity". Some others regarded Reputation as Swift's first commercial disappointment, partly because of its diminished success next to its predecessor, 1989.{{Cite magazine |last=Unterberger |first=Andrew |date=August 22, 2019 |title=How Lover Will Benefit From Being the First Taylor Swift Album Not Burdened by Expectations |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-lover-album-expectations-8528090/ |access-date=January 25, 2023 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609133733/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-lover-album-expectations-8528090/ |url-status=live }} In defense of Swift, the academic and journalist Jane Martinson said that Swift's disengagement from the press represented her efforts to control the narrative and was an empowering move for young women.

Other opinions observed how the public backlash during promotion of Reputation contributed to Swift's political engagements after 2018; she publicly endorsed political candidates, supported LGBT rights, and criticized systemic racism.{{Sfn|Driessen|2022|p=93–94}} The promotional campaign of Reputation, specifically Swift's use of social media, was subject of an academic paper analyzing popular music marketing by Linda Ryan Bengtsson and Jessica Edlom, two media and communications scholars. They argued that Reputation was the "most adequate" release in terms of marketing, driven by fan-oriented social media promotion and Swift's long-standing relationship with her supporters.{{Sfn|Bengtsson|Edlom|2023}} Her "social media blackout" set a precedent for other pop stars to emulate.{{cite web |last=Griffiths |first=George |date=October 9, 2021 |title=Adele and Other Album Campaigns That Thought Outside of the Box |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/adele-and-other-album-campaigns-that-thought-outside-of-the-box__34170/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211012130133/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/adele-and-other-album-campaigns-that-thought-outside-of-the-box__34170/ |archive-date=October 12, 2021 |access-date=October 11, 2021 |publisher=Official Charts Company}} Commenting on the album's rollout cycle, the music scholar Jadey O'Regan remarked how Swift used "the art of pop in the best way" for utilizing "the way she's been stereotyped in popular culture".{{Cite news |last=Winter |first=Velvet |date=November 12, 2022 |title=Like the Beatles, Madonna and Kylie Minogue Before Her, Taylor Swift Is Masterful at Pivoting |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-13/taylor-swift-masterful-pivot-midnights-red-taylors-version/101638992 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113175703/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-13/taylor-swift-masterful-pivot-midnights-red-taylors-version/101638992 |archive-date=November 13, 2022 |access-date=November 13, 2022 |publisher=ABC News}} The film director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson cited Reputation as an inspiration for her 2022 teen comedy film Do Revenge.{{Cite web |last=Gilmore |first=Kelly |date=September 21, 2022 |title=How Taylor Swift Influenced Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke's Netflix Movie Do Revenge |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/taylor-swift-influenced-camila-mendes-141500527.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125145310/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/taylor-swift-influenced-camila-mendes-141500527.html |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |access-date=January 25, 2023 |publisher=Yahoo!}}

Critics have regarded Reputation as an album that stood the test of time.{{Cite web |last=Siroky |first=Mary |date=September 22, 2022 |editor-last=Kaye |editor-first=Ben |title=What Were We Thinking? 15 Times We Were Wrong |url=https://consequence.net/2022/09/we-were-wrong-consequence-15/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925094237/https://consequence.net/2022/09/we-were-wrong-consequence-15/ |archive-date=September 25, 2022 |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=Consequence}}{{Cite magazine |last=Nuss |first=Allaire |date=November 7, 2022 |title=Taylor Swift's 10 Seminal Albums, Ranked |url=https://ew.com/music/taylor-swift-albums-ranked/ |access-date=January 25, 2023 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-date=November 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126041743/https://ew.com/music/taylor-swift-albums-ranked/ |url-status=live }} Billboard{{'s}} Andrew Unterberger in August 2019 wrote: "With a couple years' clarity, removed from all the backlash against Swift for her perceived insincerity (and political neutrality), we can now look back on Reputation for what it actually was: a very good pop album that was very successful." Mary Siroky of Consequence observed how time proved it to be an authentic record, contrary to some initial reviews claiming otherwise{{Cite web |date=October 26, 2022 |editor-last=Siroky |editor-first=Mary |title=Every Taylor Swift Album Ranked from Worst to Best |url=https://consequence.net/2022/10/taylor-swift-albums-ranked-list/ |access-date=January 25, 2023 |website=Consequence |archive-date=November 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116191614/https://consequence.net/2022/10/taylor-swift-albums-ranked-list/ |url-status=live }} and, as part of a 2022 piece titled "What Were We Thinking? 15 Times We Were Wrong", opined that the publication's initial review was influenced by Swift's negative press and its score should have been higher. Powers in 2024 described Reputation as an album "once-scorned, now revered".{{Cite web |last=Powers |first=Ann |author-link=Ann Powers |date=April 19, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift's Tortured Poets Is Written in Blood |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/04/19/1245630721/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-review |access-date=May 2, 2024 |publisher=NPR |archive-date=April 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420050001/https://www.npr.org/2024/04/19/1245630721/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-review |url-status=live }}

Joe Lynch of Billboard attributed the initial criticism to the general preconception disregarding lyrics in synthesizer-based arrangements; "Which is a shame, because on Reputation, Swift's words deliver vivid Polaroid shots directly to your brain."{{Cite magazine |last=Lynch |first=Joe |date=August 22, 2019 |title=Why Taylor Swift's Reputation Is Her Best Album |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-reputation-best-album-8527988/ |access-date=January 25, 2023 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125160844/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-reputation-best-album-8527988/ |url-status=live }} Rolling Stone{{'s}} Kara Voght said the album was Swift's first to "truly be in conversation with its pop contemporaries" and identified some of its songs as her artistic heights. For some critics, though Reputation is not as accomplished as Swift's other albums, its hip-hop experimentation and detail-heavy songwriting led to her refined craftsmanship on subsequent records, namely Folklore (2020), Evermore (2020), and Midnights (2022).{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Thompson (journalist) |last2=Powers |first2=Ann |author-link2=Ann Powers |last3=McKenna |first3=Lyndsey |date=July 28, 2020 |title=Let's Talk About Taylor Swift's Folklore |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/07/28/896193188/taylor-swift-folklore-critics-roundtable |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730020352/https://www.npr.org/2020/07/28/896193188/taylor-swift-folklore-critics-roundtable |archive-date=July 30, 2020 |access-date=February 23, 2022 |publisher=NPR}}{{Cite web |last=Shipley |first=Al |date=December 13, 2022 |title=Every Taylor Swift Album, Ranked |url=https://www.spin.com/2022/12/best-taylor-swift-albums/ |access-date=January 25, 2023 |website=Spin |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125155117/https://www.spin.com/2022/12/best-taylor-swift-albums/ |url-status=live }} In a 2024 ranking of Swift's 11 albums for The New York Times, Caramanica ranked Reputation at number one. He contended that the album showcased Swift's "real growth" on a narrative level by owning up her character flaws and expressing vulnerability, even embracing the frailties of fame and celebrity.{{Cite podcast |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t7C_NIkDPk |title=Ranking Every Taylor Swift Album, Worst to Best |website=Popcast (Deluxe) |last=Caramanica |first=Jon |date=July 17, 2024 |access-date=January 29, 2025 |last2=Coscarelli |first2=Joe |time=1:38:06}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Reputation track listing

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title_width = 32%

| writing_width = 45%

| extra_width = 23%

| total_length = 55:38

| title1 = …Ready for It?

| writer1 = {{hlist|Taylor Swift|Max Martin|Shellback|Ali Payami}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|Martin|Shellback|Payami}}

| length1 = 3:28

| title2 = End Game

| note2 = featuring Ed Sheeran and Future

| writer2 = {{hlist|Swift|Martin|Shellback|Sheeran|Nayvadius Wilburn}}

| extra2 = {{hlist|Martin|Shellback|Ilya{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length2 = 4:04

| title3 = I Did Something Bad

| writer3 = {{hlist|Swift|Martin|Shellback}}

| extra3 = {{hlist|Martin|Shellback}}

| length3 = 3:58

| title4 = Don't Blame Me

| writer4 = {{hlist|Swift|Martin|Shellback}}

| extra4 = {{hlist|Martin|Shellback}}

| length4 = 3:56

| title5 = Delicate

| writer5 = {{hlist|Swift|Martin|Shellback}}

| extra5 = {{hlist|Martin|Shellback}}

| length5 = 3:52

| title6 = Look What You Made Me Do

| writer6 = {{hlist|Swift|Jack Antonoff|Richard Fairbrass|Fred Fairbrass|Rob Manzoli}}

| extra6 = {{hlist|Swift|Antonoff}}

| length6 = 3:31

| title7 = So It Goes...

| writer7 = {{hlist|Swift|Martin|Shellback|Oscar Görres}}

| extra7 = {{hlist|Martin|Shellback|Görres}}

| length7 = 3:47

| title8 = Gorgeous

| writer8 = {{hlist|Swift|Martin|Shellback}}

| extra8 = {{hlist|Martin|Shellback}}

| length8 = 3:29

| title9 = Getaway Car

| writer9 = {{hlist|Swift|Antonoff}}

| extra9 = {{hlist|Swift|Antonoff}}

| length9 = 3:53

| title10 = King of My Heart

| writer10 = {{hlist|Swift|Martin|Shellback}}

| extra10 = {{hlist|Martin|Shellback}}

| length10 = 3:34

| title11 = Dancing with Our Hands Tied

| writer11 = {{hlist|Swift|Martin|Shellback|Oscar Holter}}

| extra11 = {{hlist|Martin|Shellback|Holter}}

| length11 = 3:31

| title12 = Dress

| writer12 = {{hlist|Swift|Antonoff}}

| extra12 = {{hlist|Swift|Antonoff}}

| length12 = 3:50

| title13 = This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

| writer13 = {{hlist|Swift|Antonoff}}

| extra13 = {{hlist|Swift|Antonoff}}

| length13 = 3:27

| title14 = Call It What You Want

| writer14 = {{hlist|Swift|Antonoff}}

| extra14 = {{hlist|Swift|Antonoff}}

| length14 = 3:23

| title15 = New Year's Day

| writer15 = {{hlist|Swift|Antonoff}}

| extra15 = {{hlist|Swift|Antonoff}}

| length15 = 3:55

}}

• {{small|{{note|a|a}}}} signifies an additional vocal producer.
• "Look What You Made Me Do" contains an interpolation of the 1991 song "I'm Too Sexy" by the band Right Said Fred.

{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Taylor Swift – vocals, backing vocals {{small|(tracks: 1, 4, 10)}}, producer {{small|(tracks: 6, 9, 12–15)}}; executive producer; packaging creative design, package direction, creative packaging direction
• Max Martin – producer, keyboards, programming {{small|(tracks: 1–5, 7, 8, 10, 11)}}; recording {{small|(track 1)}}; piano {{small|(tracks: 4, 5)}}; backing vocals {{small|(track 4)}}
• Shellback – producer, keyboards, programming {{small|(tracks: 1–5, 7, 8, 10, 11)}}; drums {{small|(tracks: 2, 4, 10)}}; bass {{small|(tracks: 2, 10)}}; guitars {{small|(track 8)}}
• Ali Payami – producer, keyboards, programming {{small|(track 1)}}
• Jack Antonoff – producer, programming, instruments {{small|(tracks: 6, 9, 12–14)}}; backing vocals {{small|(tracks: 6, 9, 14)}}; piano, bass, guitar, synths {{small|(track 15)}}
• Oscar Görres – producer, keyboards, programming, piano {{small|(track 7)}}
• Oscar Holter – producer, keyboards, programming {{small|(track 11)}}
• Michael Ilbert – engineer {{small|(tracks: 2–5, 7, 8, 10, 11)}}
• Sam Holland – engineer {{small|(tracks: 2–5, 7, 8, 11)}}
• Laura Sisk – engineer {{small|(tracks: 6, 9, 12, 13, 15)}}
• Noah Passovoy – engineer {{small|(track 10)}}
• Cory Bice – assistant engineer {{small|(tracks: 2–5, 7, 10, 11)}}
• Jeremy Lertola – assistant engineer {{small|(tracks: 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11)}}
• Jon Sher – assistant engineer {{small|(track 10)}}
• Ed Sheeran – featured artist {{small|(track 2)}}
• Future – featured artist {{small|(track 2)}}
• Ilya Salmanzadeh – additional vocal production {{small|(track 2)}}
• Seth Ferkins – engineer {{small|(track 2)}}
• Sean Flora – assistant engineer {{small|(track 2)}}
• Peter Karlsson – assistant engineer {{small|(track 2)}}
• Mike {{not a typo|Syn|phony}} – assistant engineer {{small|(track 2)}}
• Daniel Watson – assistant engineer {{small|(track 2)}}
• Victoria Parker – violins {{small|(tracks: 6, 9, 13)}}; viola {{small|(track 13)}}
• Phillip A. Peterson – cellos {{small|(tracks: 6, 9, 13)}}
• Evan Smith – saxophones {{small|(track 6)}}
• James Reynolds – baby voice intro {{small|(track 8)}}
• Sean Hutchinson – drums {{small|(track 9)}}
• Serban Ghenea – mixing
• John Hanes – mix engineer
• Randy Merrill – mastering
• Mert and Marcus – photography
• Mat Maitland – photo creative direction
• Joseph Cassell – wardrobe stylist
• Isamaya Ffrench – makeup
• Lorraine Griffin – manicurist
• Paul Hanlon – hair
• Josh and Bethany Newman – packaging art direction
• Ben Fieker – packaging design
• Parker Foote – packaging design
• Austin Hale – packaging design

{{div col end}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Reputation, with pure sales where available}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=album|artist=Taylor Swift |title=Reputation|award=Platinum|number=5|relyear=2017|certyear=2024|access-date=April 28, 2024|refname="ARIA"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Austria |artist=Taylor Swift |title=Reputation |award= Platinum |type=album |relyear=2017 |certyear= 2018 |access-date= January 24, 2018|refname="IFPIat"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Belgium|type=album|certyear=2022|relmonth=11|relyear=2017|award=Platinum|artist=Taylor Swift|title=Reputation|access-date=August 30, 2022|refname="BEA"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Brazil|type=album|award=Platinum|number=3|relyear=2022|certyear=2024|artist=Taylor Swift|title=Reputation|access-date=September 19, 2024|refname="Brazil"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|type=album|certyear=2024|relyear=2017|award=Platinum|number=2 |id=14239|artist=Taylor Swift|title=Reputation|access-date=August 28, 2024|refname="IFPIDen"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|type=album|certyear=2024|relyear=2017|award=Platinum|id=11371|artist=Taylor Swift|title=Reputation|access-date=May 27, 2024|refname="SNEP"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|artist=Taylor Swift|title=Reputation|award=Platinum|type=album|relyear=2017|certyear=2024|access-date=August 7, 2024|refname="BVMI"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=album|certyear=2023|certweek=2|relyear=2017|award=Platinum|artist=Taylor Swift |title=reputation|access-date=October 16, 2023|id=11507|refname="FIMI"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Japan |type=album |award=Gold |artist=Taylor Swift |title=Reputation |relyear=2018 |certyear=2018 |certmonth=3 |access-date= July 8, 2018|refname="oricon"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Mexico |type=album |award=Platinum |relyear=2017 |certyear=2018 |date=October 2018|access-date=January 29, 2025|refname="AMPROFON"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=album|artist=Taylor Swift|title=Reputation|award=Platinum|number=5|relyear=2017|certyear=2024|id=2024-03-15|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|refname="RMNZ"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Norway|type=album|artist=Taylor Swift |title=Reputation|award=Gold|relyear=2017|certyear=2020|access-date= October 29, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Poland|artist=Taylor Swift|title=Reputation|award=Platinum|number=2|type=album|relyear=2017|certyear=2024|access-date=June 5, 2024|refname="Poland"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Portugal|artist=Taylor Swift|title=Reputation|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=2017|certyear=2024|id=file_2024-09-05-09-32-28.pdf|access-date=September 6, 2024|refname= "Portugal"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Singapore|type=album|certyear=2019|award=Platinum|access-date=December 17, 2020|refname="rias"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|artist=Taylor Swift |title=Reputation |type=album |award=Gold |relyear=2017 |certyear=2020 |date=August 2020|id=taylor-swift-reputation|access-date=August 16, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Sweden|award=Platinum|artist=Taylor Swift|title=Reputation|type=album|relyear=2017|source=artist|refname="IFPISwe"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Switzerland|artist=Taylor Swift |title=Reputation |type=album |award=Gold |relyear=2017 |certyear=2024 |access-date=April 15, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Taylor Swift|title=Reputation|award=Platinum|number=3|type=album|relyear=2017|certyear=2024|id=5472-1598-2|access-date=September 6, 2024|refname= "BPI"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States |artist=Taylor Swift |title=Reputation |award=Platinum |number=3|type=album |relyear=2017 |certyear=2022|access-date=December 29, 2022|refname="RIAA"|salesamount=2,478,000|salesref={{efn|United States sales for Reputation as of January 2024}}}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true}}

• List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2017
• List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2018
• List of number-one albums of 2017 (Australia)
• List of number-one albums of 2017 (Belgium)
• List of number-one albums of 2017 (Canada)
• List of number-one albums of 2017 (Ireland)
• List of number-one albums of 2018 (Ireland)
• List of number-one albums from the 2010s (New Zealand)
• {{Section link|List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 2010s|2017}}
• List of top 25 albums for 2017 in Australia
• List of top 25 albums for 2018 in Australia
• Lists of fastest-selling albums
• List of best-selling albums in China
• List of best-selling albums by year in the United States
• List of best-selling albums in the United States of the Nielsen SoundScan era

{{Notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite journal |last1=Bengtsson |first1=Linda Ryan| last2=Edlom| first2=Jessica |year=2023 |title=Commodifying participation through choreographed engagement: the Taylor Swift case |journal=Arts and the Market |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=65–79 |doi=10.1108/AAM-07-2022-0034| doi-access=free}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Canavan |first1=Brendan| last2=McCamley| first2=Claire |year=2020 |title=The passing of the postmodern in pop? Epochal consumption and marketing from Madonna, through Gaga, to Taylor |journal=Journal of Business Research |volume=107 |issue=2020 |doi=10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.12.005| pages=222–230| doi-access=free}}
• {{cite journal |last=Driessen |first=Simone |year=2022 |title=Look what you made them do: understanding fans' affective responses to Taylor Swift's political coming-out |journal=Celebrity Studies |volume=13 |issue=1 |doi=10.1080/19392397.2021.2023851 |pages=93–96 |s2cid=245720172 |url=https://pure.eur.nl/ws/files/45418881/Look_what_you_made_them_do_understanding_fans_affective_responses_to_Taylor_Swift_s_political_coming_out_1_.pdf |access-date=March 15, 2023 |archive-date=February 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228190539/https://pure.eur.nl/ws/files/45418881/Look_what_you_made_them_do_understanding_fans_affective_responses_to_Taylor_Swift_s_political_coming_out_1_.pdf |url-status=live }}
• {{Cite journal |last=Klein |first=Ashley N. |date=November–December 2023 |title=Taylor Swift Music Icon and Copyright Gamesman? |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A780928937/AONE?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=359637b2 |journal=Landslide |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=34+ |access-date=June 1, 2025 |via=Gale Academic OneFile}}
• {{cite journal |last=McNutt |first=Myles |year=2020 |title=From 'Mine' to 'Ours': Gendered Hierarchies of Authorship and the Limits of Taylor Swift's Paratextual Feminism |journal=Communication, Culture and Critique |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=72–91 |doi=10.1093/ccc/tcz042}}
• {{cite journal |last=Wilkinson |first=Maryn |date=2017 |title=Taylor Swift: the hardest working, zaniest girl in show business |journal=Celebrity Studies |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=441–444 |doi=10.1080/19392397.2019.1630160 |doi-access=free}}

• {{Discogs master|type=album|1265121|name=Reputation}}

{{Taylor Swift|state=expanded}}

{{Billboard Year-End number one albums}}

{{authority control}}

Category:2017 albums

Category:Taylor Swift albums

Category:Big Machine Records albums

Category:Albums produced by Taylor Swift

Category:Albums produced by Jack Antonoff

Category:Albums produced by Max Martin

Category:Albums produced by Shellback (record producer)

Category:Electropop albums

Category:Contemporary R&B albums by American artists

Category:Albums produced by Ali Payami

Category:Albums produced by Oscar Görres

Category:Albums produced by Oscar Holter

Category:Synth-pop albums by American artists