The Chicago Tribune’s Tempo section is announcing their 50 best magazines. They revealed the top 10 in a press release today:
Wired
Real Simple
The Economist
Cook’s Illustrated
Esquire
New Yorker
American Demographics
Men’s Health
Jane
Consumer Reports
11-50 remain a mystery until tomorrow.
I subscribe to Cook’s and the New Yorker, both of which are very good indeed. My wife gets Real Simple, which seems well put together for a lifestyle magazine that doesn’t speak to my lifestyle. I sometimes pick up Wired, the Economist and Jane, and yes, they’re good too. (Although I’d swap Jane for Bust in the women’s magazine category.) And of course I consult Consumer Reports for major purchase decisions, so good call on that.
I think they’re overstimating Esquire, which I wouldn’t elevate above, say, the Atlantic (which better be in the next set). I might bump something for Entertainment Weekly, which does a pretty good survey of American pop culture on a weekly basis. You can get more in-depth info on movies, music or TV from other magazines, but not the breadth.
I’ve never read American Demographics or Men’s Health, but now I’d kind of like to. (There’s a short justification for each pick at the link above. And they did this last year, too.) I hope the Believer is in the next 40 picks; I wouldn’t put it in the top 10, but it’s hard to pass up a new issue.
Cook’s Illustrated is excellent – it’s from the same people who do America’s Test Kitchen. I read every word of it. I LOVE their hand-drawn illustrations. Pricey though.
Consumer Reports bores me. But useful – it told me what toaster to buy.
Wired. I used to get this. The main articles were always very good, and often ridiculously long. The front and back were worthless though.
Men’s Health, fer cryin’ out loud? And where’s Juggs? OK, just kidding about that one.
Initially I thought only American-published magazines were included, but then noted that The Economist is on the list. So I find it strange that none of my fave UK-published titles show up (yet).
Now I can hear y’all clamoring, “but Kabong, what’s your top ten?” So, since you asked, here they are, in no particular order:
Car (UK) Fortean Times (UK) Empire (UK) (the World’s Greatest Movie Magazine, in case the title is obscure) Air International (UK) The Economist (UK) Smithsonian Trains The Atlantic Monthly Wired Entertainment Weekly
I’ve always thought Wired was ridiculously overrated, and it’s not even as good today as it once was because it has to keep bumping into reality.
Esquire is an astounding choice. In the 1960s, yes, it was the best. Now? I’d go with the Atlantic as well, or even Vanity Fair.
I stopped reading American Demographics because I thought that the conclusions it kept trying to wring out of the data were either simplistic or forced. It may have gotten better.
The Economist has some good points, but it’s often excruciatingly boring. If they were going to throw in a British magazine, why not make it something lively, like The New Scientist?
New Yorker has improved and is in one of its periodic up cycles.
Consumers Reports is the best in its field, but if that’s your criterion you can throw in anything from Sports Illustrated to Premiere.
No business magazine? Fortune has done a series of outstanding articles in the past year.
Of course, these lists only exist for people to disagree with them.
Economist
New Yorker
Vogue
Archaeology
Jane
Q
Lucky
US Weekly (I’m hiding my face in shame but after umpteen law classes I REALLY need to come home and think about J.Lo.)
Ms.
Cooking Light
I was thinking about changing my subscription from ‘Total Film’ to ‘Empire’, until I bought a copy of Empire.
I’ve never read a more sycophantic magazine ever.
Their reviews are so wrong as well. ‘Last Samurai’ - five out of five.
Give me a break. Total Film is the best movie magazine and even that’s flawed.
Best magazine ever has to be the multi-platform videogame mag called Edge, it’s the business.
The Match!
Entertainment Weekly
Bitch
Vanity Fair
Sports Illustrated
Fortean Times
2600
GAMES
Giant Robot
Consumer Reports
Utne Reader has fallen, or rather HAD fallen when I stopped reading. Adbusters bores me these days. Bust infuriates me sometimes with its contradictory messages. I’ve opened an issue or two of Wired, and have been underwhelmed. My wife reads, in addition to several of my top ten, People, Us Weekly, and Mother Jones, which I read, and Cook’s Illustrated and Real Simple, which I don’t
I was all excited to get a subscription to WIRED before I realized that they put the entire contents of the magazine (albeit without the photos) online. Then I actually read the magazine. Ugh.
I was surprised just how many magazines do that and how much less expensive my life is because of it.
I did want to say that choosing MEN’S HEALTH was surprising since it’s now basically MAXIM for old folks.
I like WIRED. That and COSMO are the only 2 mags I subscribe to (hi, I’m single!!).
I like the short pieces in Wired. I like most of the long stories. I even like the ads. Granted, 75% of the stuff is over my head but I do read it cover-to-cover and eventually pass it off to my friends.
It does have alot of content, too. And usuallyu each month there’s something in it that I can later bring up in conversation to make me seem more smarter than I really am.
Cosmo, on the other hand, is like the uppity older sister I never had (or wanted). I like the ads in there too. Good thing, cuz there’s more ads than content anymore.
The full list of 50 is online today. I’m not going to retype the next 40 titles, but you can check the link for explanations of why the Tempo staff chose each title.
Of magazines that we’ve mentioned: No Utne (which I can agree with), no Harper’s (which surprises me), no National Geographic, no Skeptical Inquirer or New Scientist, no Bust or Bitch. Entertainment Weekly is #30.
That’s pretty much de rigueur for pop culture lists, innit?
I have to admit that SI is one of those magazines that I want to like, that has interesting information, but that I don’t think is all that great as a magazine. As a reference, aces. As ammo for skeptics, ditto. As a pleasant read, not so much.
That’s actually one of the things I like about the magazine – it’s happy to be schizophrenic. Or to have multiple personality disorder. Or whatever.
My own top 10, by the way, not ranked: Entertainment Weekly The Atlantic Monthly The New Yorker Cook’s Illustrated The Economist Bizarre – the apex of trashy The Believer Bust Us Weekly – the best of the tabloidesque US mags New Scientist – I only read it every few months, but it’s very well done
I love Popular Mechanics Yeah, it’s silly but I love it. Along with Jane’s Defense Weekly and The Economist, of course. I subscribe to Ms., but it always makes me so angry I can’t really list it as a favorite, it’s more like something I do that’s good for me rather than something I do because I like it.
Whoa, there, young horseman. I think US Weekly is a perfect specimen in its genre: not as light-and-fluffy as People, not as salacious as the Enquirer. I suppose it’s a guilty pleasure if you feel guilty about ever being interested in celebrities, but since I only occasionally indulge I don’t feel guilty at all.
That said, I think I’ll bump it from my list for a slot titled “random magazine that I picked up and thought was interesting this week” – most recently Fortune, but can be anything from Sight & Sound to ReadyMade to McSweeney’s to Gourmand.
