Must admit I do find these 5 stars instant classic reviews quite jarring. She is a pop star with pretty uncomplicated songs and lyrics aimed at her teenage fanbase (I cringe every time Karma comes on, karma is a cat, really?!) but shes written about as if shes producing literally some of the best music of all time? Surely these reviewers don't really believe that?
She's very good at what she does, and I get it's different strokes for different folks and all that. I'd say Lana Del Rey for example is a far superior songwriter and her Norman Rockwell album far outshines anything Taylor Swift has released, bearing in mind they both work with Jack Antonoff.
Is her music really that good? Beatles, Rolling Stones level? Deserving of higher praise than some of the most influential and groundbreaking artists of all time? Am I just a miserable prick? 
She is a pop star. If you're not exposing yourself to her catalogue of music then I can understand why you are hearing things like Shake It Off, Karma, Love Story, 22, We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together and thinking wtf?
I have always maintained in this thread that the stuff above - the 'glitter pen' music, is not her best. But for whatever reason, herself or her label decide that's what the single is or that's what will go on radio.
But she will always, always be more than those songs. All of her best work is in her albums. I have plenty of time for Karma or WANEGBT in the right moment but it's not a fair reflection of who she is as an artist. Some of those songs are pop bangers/classics - Style, Blank Space, Anti Hero etc... no doubt and I do think lyrically they track.
She one catagorised herself and her music into 3 sections/vibes which maybe does help explain a bit more on who she is. She self-catagorised her music into 'Fountain Pen' / 'Quill Pen' or 'Glitter Gel Pen' lyrics:
“Most of my lyrics are ‘Fountain Pen’ lyrics,” Swift said in a statement with Apple. “They’re modern personal stories, written like poetry, about those moments you remember all too well where you can see, hear, and feel everything in screaming detail.”
“Glitter Gel Pen songs have lyrics that make you want to dance, sing and toss glitter around the room,” Swift continued. “They remind you not to take yourself too seriously, which is something we all need to hear these days. Quill Pen songs are songs with lyrics that make you feel all old fashioned, like you’re a 19th century poet crafting your next sonnet by candlelight.”So I think, for those people who don't actively seek out and listen to her music they are exposed to the 'glitter pen' songs and get a bit lost/confused when people reference her storytelling and lyricism, as they will be referring to the 'Fountain Pen / Quill Pen' songs mainly.
That's how I see it.
Of course there are plenty of people who will have heard it all and don't like it and that's all well and good and is their right. As with the folks who maybe only love the glitter pen stuff.
EDIT: Also, I'm not trying to dig you out but "She is a pop star with pretty uncomplicated songs and lyrics aimed at her teenage fanbase (I cringe every time Karma comes on, karma is a cat, really?!)" sounds just like an example of someone who hasn't heard much beyond the glitter stuff, as I was saying. Because she is absolutely not just a pop star with uncomplicated lyrics aimed at her teenager fanbase. I can understand why you think Karma is that, but Karma is one song out of a catalogue of hundreds she has written. I think you'd be surprised at how assorted her listening fanbase is - male, female, young, old.
