Judging from its acclaim and commercial success, music critic Tom Hull concluded that Swift 'caught the spirit of the times' with Folklore 's 'long, pleasant, intricate songs'.

In agreement, Financial Times named Swift one of the most influential women of 2020, calling Folklore 'the first great lockdown album', while Hot Press termed it 'the first great album of the lockdown era'. The Week called it 'the first great pandemic art' for being the first prominent body of work to emerge from popular culture that is 'almost exclusively a product of the quarantine', and added that Swift set high standards for future pandemic projects. Vogue also listed the album amongst the best moments of lockdown culture. In a list awarding the most creative works that shaped quarantine, Vulture labeled Folklore as 2020's 'Best Breakdown in Musical Form': An album that speaks to loneliness, rich with 'the kinds of thoughts we try to keep to ourselves'. Clash credited Swift with softening the tragic start of 2020s which was shaping up to become a tumultuous decade, by using a 'wintery album released smack in the middle of summer' that 'forces us to slow down and take stock of where we are now in love and life'. Uproxx noted how Folklore changed the tone of music in 2020, and added that its impact on the year's cultural landscape 'can't be measured', owing to how it erased 'all the pain and anguish and anxiety' in the world when music fans fled to social media to celebrate the album. Billboard proclaimed that it would be cherished as one of Swift's most influential albums for transcending the unprecedented times and freeing listeners from a monotonous, socially distant life. Rolling Stone predicted that the album may go down in history as 'the definitive quarantine album' for providing comfort and catharsis 'just when we needed it most'. Echoing similar sentiments, Insider stated that Folklore would be known as 'lockdown's one true masterpiece', out of the works released by artists during the pandemic. NME wrote the album will be remembered as 'the quintessential lockdown album' that acted as a soothing balm during lockdown, and while many artists created quarantine albums, it was Folklore that 'felt like the perfect accompaniment for the weird loneliness' of 2020. The Guardian opined that Folklore was a respite from chaotic global events, converting dark emotions into something beautiful, while The Daily Telegraph called it 'an exquisite, empathetic lockdown triumph'. Los Angeles Times thought that the album was ruminative and dreamy, displaying the work of an artist 'cut off from the everyday world, turned inward'. Folklore was contextualized as a lockdown project instantly upon release, and earned a reputation as the archetypal quarantine album.

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