Merriam-Webster defines evolution as a process of slow change and development. As an avid Taylor Swift fan, I can attest to the changes in her work throughout the 10 years of Taylor Swift that the world has been blessed with. She receives a lot of criticism for writing about her past relationships and for her dating life. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me because there are plenty of other artists that also write about their relationships and her dating life wouldn't even be that big of a deal if it wasn't in the public eye. It's the price she pays for being famous. However, even with all of the criticism she has experienced since rising to fame, Taylor's music has only gotten better with each album she has released.

1. Taylor Swift

Taylor exploded onto the music scene at only 16 years old with the success of her first album, which was self-titled. This album, released by Big Machine Records on October 24, 2006 as a country album, set the stage for what the rest of her music career would look like as she sang about different aspects of love and relationships. "Tim McGraw", "Teardrops on My Guitar", "Our Song", "Picture to Burn", and "Should've Said No" were the five singles released from this particular album and "Our Song" ended up being Taylor's first number one hit on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

I remember not being able to get in a car or go anywhere without hearing a radio station playing Taylor's music. She instantly became one of my favorite artists and I have yet to hear a song of hers that I don't like. From her first album, my favorite song is "Mary's Song". No question about it. It wasn't one of the singles that absolutely everyone knows, but in the song Taylor sings about a love between two people who grew up together in a small town spanning across a lifetime and all of the trials that life brings. It's the kind of love that I believe every girl dreams about.

Favorite lyrics: "I'll be eighty-seven, you'll be eighty-nine. I'll still look at you like the stars that shine in the sky. Oh my, my, my."

2. Fearless

The second studio album by Taylor Swift, released by Big Machine Records on November 11, 2008, Fearless also blessed the world with five singles and directed Taylor into a more country-pop genre. The five singles released were "Love Story", "White Horse", "You Belong with Me", "Fifteen", and "Fearless". This album debuted at number one in the United States and also won Swift the honor of having the year's best-selling album.

I feel like this album came across a little more raw and open with the lyrics. Where "Picture to Burn" and "Should've Said No" from her first album were a little more revenge-driven and came across as dealing with anger in being wronged in a relationship, "White Horse" showed more honesty in giving chance after chance to someone who didn't deserve it. It is definitely a song that is perfect to listen to when you just need to cry it out after going through a horrible breakup.

Again, not surprisingly, with this album my favorite song from it was not released as a single. "The Best Day" was written by Taylor as an expression of gratitude and appreciation for her mom and, as someone who is really close to her parents, I connected with this song so much.

Favorite lyrics: "And I love you for giving me your eyes, for staying back and watching me shine. And I didn't know if you knew, so I'm taking this chance to say that I had the best day with you today."

3. Speak Now

Speak Now was Taylor's third studio album and was released by Big Machine Records on October 25, 2010 in the genre of country-pop. "Mine", "Back to December", "Mean", "The Story of Us", "Sparks Fly", and "Ours" were the six singles released from Speak Now. It went quadruple platinum and included songs that many speculate were inspired by her relationships with Taylor Lautner and John Mayer.

My favorite songs from this album were also not released as singles, which you may begin to see as a theme with me. I can't decide which I love more though, so I'll just include them both. "Enchanted" speaks to finding that someone that you connect with in a world that seems to be full of people who aren't necessarily themselves that put on a front for the world. Tied with this song would be "Long Live" which I feel speaks to youth, finding your place in the world and just taking the world by storm despite what others might have to say.

Favorite lyrics (from "Enchanted"): "This is me praying that this was the very first page, not where the story line ends. My thoughts will echo your name until I see you again."

Favorite lyrics (from "Long Live"): "Will you take a moment, promise me this, that you'll stand by me forever, but if God forbid fate should step in and force us into a goodbye... if you have children someday, when they point to the pictures please tell them my name."

4. Red

Released by Big Machine Records on October 22, 2012, Red is Taylor Swift's fourth studio album and had seven singles released from it including "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", "Begin Again", "I Knew You Were Trouble", "22", "Red", "Everything Has Changed", and "The Last Time". This album started leading Taylor into a more pop genre and dealt with the same themes that Swift had been writing and singing about for years, but in a more intense, mature style.

"All Too Well" is still my all-time favorite Taylor Swift song even though it wasn't released as a single. There is just something so raw, intense, and emotional about the lyrics and the way they pair so beautifully with the music that just sticks with you. I think everyone has had that one relationship that you just ended up getting too close to and it just ended up burning you when it was all over. Something about it changed you in a way that you can't go back to the person you were before.

Favorite lyrics: "Hey you call me up again just to break me like a promise. So casually cruel in the name of being honest. I'm a crumpled up piece of paper lying here cause I remember it all, all, all too well. Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it. I'd like to be my old self again, but I'm still trying to find it."

5. 1989

Her fifth and most recent studio album, 1989 was released by Big Machine Records on October 27, 2014 and completely moved Taylor into the genre of pop music. It has, so far, seen seven single released including "Shake It Off", "Blank Space", "Style", "Bad Blood", "Wildest Dreams", "Out of the Woods", and "New Romantics". This album still sticks to her themes of love and relationships while also allowing her to explore a more mature style with her lyrics and music.

Unlike with her first four albums, my favorite song from this album actually was released as a single; "Wildest Dreams".

Favorite lyrics: "Nothing lasts forever, but this is getting good now. He's so tall and handsome as hell. He's so bad, but he does it so well."

With five amazing albums under her belt and a little over two years since the last one was released, I wonder what Taylor Swift will come up with next. I'd say that a new album is long overdue, but you can't rush greatness.