Rolling Stone ranked Taylor Swift’s “august” number 5 on its list of the best songs of 2020.
The ranking recognized the song’s cinematic production and emotionally detailed storytelling. “august” was one of the standout tracks on Folklore, an album built around fictional narratives, imagined characters, and a deliberately atmospheric sound.
The song’s critical reception is separate from its chart performance. Rolling Stone’s year-end ranking placed it fifth, while the Chicago Tribune and Yahoo also included it on their best-of-2020 lists. Complex ranked it second on its own year-end list, so the publication must be named when quoting the number.
The annual August trend later gave the song a second life. Its seasonal popularity, social-media circulation, and recurring streaming increases helped turn a critically praised album track into a dependable late-summer phenomenon.