Music Industry

How Good a Year Did Taylor Swift Have? Michael Jackson-Good

Lost in the noise of Adele’s late-year achievements with 25 are the accomplishments of Taylor Swift in 2015. Medium.com has the proof.

Did Taylor Swift Just Submit the Greatest Year Ever?

Taylor takes her place alongside Elvis, the Beatles, and Michael Jackson in the pantheon of musical artist achievement in a calendar year.

In sports, cross-generational comparison of the historical greats provides endless fodder for family arguments, podcast and radio diatribes, social media trolling, bar fights, and general contentiousness between fans old and young. Why? Because despite our modern obsession with metrics, there is no definitive truth in these comparisons. Brady vs Montana? Serena vs Graf? LeBron vs Magic ? While statistics can be measured across eras, the game changes. Humans evolve. Everything from equipment, to performance enhancing drugs, to non-smoking rules in arenas, to comfort in air travel makes what-that-guy-did-then different from what-this-guy’s-doing-now.

While we know greatness when we see it, we are perpetually contrasting the greatness before us with the greatness that came before, secretly knowing there is rarely an indisputable answer. We use these conversations to connect with each other. There’s space for everyone in the argument, and we learn one another by how we advocate for the unproveable.

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Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38025 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

3 thoughts on “How Good a Year Did Taylor Swift Have? Michael Jackson-Good

  • What a joke, please.

    Reply
  • Oh, please…, excume, but where is the pantheon of musical artist achievement in a calendar year alongside (Elvis, the Beatles, and) Michael Jackson????

    Reply
  • Taylor Swift for real she has no talent whatsoever she sucks but yea ok go ahead and say ur stupid lies

    Reply

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