The 51 Best Magazines EVER
March 10th, 2007 Posted by V
Newspapers tell you about the world. Magazines tell you about their world.
Graydon Carter, self-proclaimed Bigshot Editor of GOOD Magazine wins the magazine war. I’m 100% sure his magazine collection puts mine to shame, and his knowledge of magazine history makes me look like a pre-schooler in comparison (though I’m willing to bet he’s got a good decade on me, agewise). Finally, at long last, I have something to aspire to.
Take a looksee at his list of The 51 Best Magazines Ever *Smartest, Prettiest, Coolest, Funniest, Most Influential, Most Necessary, Most Important, Most Essential, etc. His list spans a full century, marking the notable achievers of the game.
I tend to gravitate mostly toward cultural and subcultural publications. It is my niche if you will. I appreciate Graydon’s attention to the Majors and the bit of history he interjects. I tend to pass over a lot of these publications such as LIFE, dismissing them as historically vital, but boring and uncontemporary. Perhaps his list has opened my eyes a little.
So Graydon Carter, Sir, you have inspired me on an expedition of crate-digging (or ebaying, whatever). As an ode to you, I will attempt to track down a few choice titles off your list that were of particular interest to me.
So with no further adieu, I begin my search to track down and review the following publications:
9. Andy Warhol’s Interview: (until Warhol’s death, 1969–1988)
18. Details (original incarnation, pre Condé Nast, 1982–1988)
27. The Face: (1980’s)
43. Wet: (maybe the weirdest magazine on this list)
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8 Comments Add your own
1. G | March 13th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
God, I have so many issues of those old Details and of course, The Face (#1, best mag ever IMO), but you’ve schooled me on Wet - I don’t know it!
2. V | March 13th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
Of course The Face is also my #1 mag ever, but I’m pretty sure everyone I’ve ever spoken with for more than 10 mins. knows that.
I had every issue of The Face from 1998 till its demise. But unfortunately, in some dumb spasm of idiocy I threw them all out when I moved. I regret it daily. Trust me.
And no, I have not schooled you on Wet, this is Graydon Carter’s list, not mine, and I too had never heard of Wet until his article.
3. Dave C. | April 9th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Seriously, how did Communication Arts not make it into that list?
4. Ms. Keough | April 10th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Wet Magazine was great. We found some links to some old issues of it. http://printfetish.com/2007/01/keeping_it_wet.html.
5. V | April 11th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Ms. Keough:
Thanks for the link! Hard to believe that was from 1981! (god, I was only 1 year old then, ha!) With all the proliferation of street art magazines nowadays, it’s really interesting to see a street art feature from so long ago.
6. Michael | April 17th, 2007 at 7:16 am
That Good Magazine list was so heavily biased towards the US. They really should have used a different title like ‘Best US-centric magazines ever’ or something. I know many magaophiles outside the US found this ‘Best Ever’ declaration quite insulting.
7. V | April 17th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I agree Michael….I am American, so it was great to see so many American titles on the list…. but I definitely think most of the creative and interesting titles come from abroad (I actually much prefer foreign titles and search them out more often than American titles).
8. Michael | April 19th, 2007 at 7:29 am
I think it’s good to have a mixture. You guys in the US take the art of making consumer magazines very seriously. Something major magazine publishers in the UK often seem kind of envious of. I just wish Good Magazine had looked beyond the shores to see what the rest of the world has been reading.
Thanks for the link to the NMCA too. Every bit of attention it gets pushes me to make it better so thanks for the encouragement. Loving your blog!
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