Each year at the National Magazine Awards, a panel of judges decides which of
the nation's 17,500 periodicals are the best.
But who cares what some publishing-industry poohbahs think? Magazines speak to
each of us differently, and those lauded for slick editing and fancy
photography aren't always the ones that capture our hearts. The New Yorker is
the best magazine? Tell that to the readers of Armchair General.
Thus, the Tempo staff, for the third straight year, has compiled its own list
of best magazines -- our personal favorites, drawn from the titles that clutter
our cubicles, litter our nightstands or just, frankly, fire us up. The ranking
is deeply subjective. But we've spent a lot of time seriously mulling a vital
and eclectic universe.
We proudly present Tempo's 50 Best Magazines, 2005.
1. Blender. Finally, America has a music magazine that unites the
zippy, irreverent writing of the best British music press with the
serious reporting and terrific profiles that can still occasionally
be found in the depleted Rolling Stone. Blender's exhaustive piece on the
shooting of Pantera's Dimebag Darrell, for instance, was
definitive. And when it comes to top-notch froth, well, it's the mag to beat.
The features on divas such as Jennifer Lopez and Mariah
Carey were not just deee-liciously dishy, they were brilliantly
crafted. Plus, Blender's reviews are well-informed, fun to read and
mercifully free of the rock-crit blather designed to impress other
critics.
2. National Geographic Traveler. The new motto ("All Travel, All the Time") of
this offspring of that other magazine with a yellow border takes a
not-so-subtle dig at certain upscale competitors. No Rolex
ads or anorexic models lounging in dugout canoes here. NGT devotes
itself to one thing, travel -- and nobody does it better. Beautifully written
and meticulously edited, with photos that stop you in your tracks (wonder where
they got that concept), its stories and features explore a world of practical
possibilities without forgetting our impossible dreams.
3. Vanity Fair. If ever there were a book to not judge by its cover, it is
Vanity Fair. Sultry A-list cover girls such as Angelina Jolie
are mere gift-wrapping for what's inside: some of the best magazine
journalism in the country. The features on corporate corruption,
harassed government whistle-blowers and the high jinks of the rich
and famous read like well-written suspense novels. Dominick Dunne's
diary chronicles international society's most delicious tidbits,
while movie, book, music and art news keep readers culturally astute.
4. Wired. This mag hasn't missed a trick in the past year. It kicked off a huge
debate about some in the green community giving nuclear
power a second look -- a controversy The New York Times picked up on months
later. An essential combination of well-informed tech guide,
bomb-throwing opinion pieces and terrific reporting (the article on
the barrio kids who created a submersible robot was a high point),
even its glitzy movie tie-ins have legs to them. Wired's May cover on George
Lucas dug into the director's past and actually found
something new and thought-provoking to say about the director and
his "Star Wars" flicks, which we didn't think was possible. Hats (or iPod ear
buds) off to another great year.
5. Cook's Illustrated. We like to know how and why things work, so
we're suckers for a magazine that tests things such as julienne
peelers or non-stick skillets and explains -- with diagrams! -- why
one kind is better than another. Same goes for recipes; the folks
in "America's Test Kitchen" will try out all sorts of techniques
like, say, braising, tell us what works best and give us a recipe.
Who cares if we never julienne a potato or braise a brisket?
Knowledge is power.
6. New York. This magazine is New York: The style, the energy, the
elbow in your side that says, "Get outta my way." The cover stories
are genuinely pro-vocative: everything from an essay calling for New York to
secede to a searing account of a doomed friendship between
two well-known writers. The gossip is geographically limited but
first-rate. Features such as "Ask a Shop Clerk" and "The Look Book"
bring us New York in all its brazen, foul-mouthed glory. These people really
get "gritty," and they really get "glitzy." A winning
combination.
7. People. Admit it: You read it. Oh, maybe not in your home, but in the
doctor's office. At your friend's house. People has plenty of
competition these days in the "celebrity news" department, but good,
old-fashioned reporting skills, genuine restraint in the airing of
dirty laundry and fast-paced storytelling keep us coming back for
more.
8. Vogue. There's nothing girlish about editor Anna Wintour's
approach to the world of fashion, which makes her the queen bee year after
year. And if you don't want to admit you buy it for the
gorgeous pictures (Arthur Elgort, Steven Meisel, Mario Testino,
Irving Penn), you can say you read the articles and maintain plenty
of intellectual credibility. John Powers is back as movie critic;
Joan Juliet Buck is always on the mark with TV -- and we always love anything
by Julia Reed, Robert Sullivan, Jeffrey Steingarten. We
could go on and on.
9. People en Espanol. Most entertainment magazines for the Hispanic
reader in the U.S. are Americanized versions of Latin-American
editions. PES not only surpasses its competitors, it rivals most
American gossip and entertainment magazines with in-depth stories and
interviews dressed-up with original photography and superb design -- often
better than its American sibling. Muy bien!
10. Metropolis. In these days of sexed-up, hipped-up design
magazines, Metropolis is the quiet, smart one in the good suit with
the wire glasses. This is the design magazine for adults who would
rather read intelligent prose about "daylighting" in our buildings,
green roofs, the birth of a high-tech chair and the latest adventures of
Florence Knoll than try to figure out what all those bare naked people are
doing in the advertisements.
11. Shop Etc. Distinguishing itself with three departments --
fashion, home and beauty -- Shop Etc. has quickly become one style
tome worth a cover-to-cover tour. Always, we discover something that (a) we
love (b) can afford and (c) can achieve without support staff. Shop Etc. is not
too uptight to do an "everything under $100" issue, and it manages to make even
bug busters for the yard and at-home hair removal look pretty. All while
remaining mercifully celebrity-free.
12. Make. This new quarterly hopes to turn digital living from a
spectator sport to a participant sport. The first two issues captured the
do-it-your-self-as-entertainment vibe with instructions for building a kite
that takes bird's-eye view pictures of your
neighborhood and another for creating a cheap camcorder stand that
takes the jumpiness out of fast-moving home videos. Even those of us who aren't
tech-inclined can appreciate the clear photos and step-by-step directions that
meld Popular Mechanics magazine with a Sharper Image catalog.
13. Newsweek/Time. These old warhorses -- which, after years of
competition, have gotten to look more and more alike -- aren't
perfect, as Newsweek's recent bobble of the Koran story showed. But, week in,
week out, they cover the world, from Ariel Sharon to Sharon Stone, from Philip
Roth to Karl Rove, from Baghdad to Las Vegas.
While not as glitzy or as flip as the host of niche magazines with
which they contend, these two do their jobs with wit, intelligence,
zest and earnestness.
14. Top Gear. Hail, Britannia. Our former landlords don't just rule
the waves -- they also rule the world of cheeky car magazines. Now
that Car & Driver has abdicated the "fun and fun to drive" crown, a
trio of stunners from across the pond -- Car, Evo and Top Gear -- vie for best
in the world. By a hair, Top Gear takes the crown, doing for-real wit and humor
along with gobs of information on cars that you only wish you could drive.
April's "Segway vs. Flybar" contained more hilarity in fewer words than
anything since "Take my wife ... please!"
15. National Geographic. It's smart. It's beautiful. It really cares about the
Csango people of Romania. In a world where most magazines
are the literary equivalent of a great date, National Geographic is
true marriage material. The cover stories are often as well-reported as books,
and the shorter features can showcase a staff that can also be surprisingly
nimble and playful. The photos alone are worth the price of admission.
16. Fine Gardening. There are many gardening magazines, but this one always is
worth the time spent reading instead of weeding. The
monthly column of tips from readers has light-bulb ideas. Design
principles are explained clearly, with photos dissected in plant-by-
plant and point-by-point captions. Plants are considered not just for looks but
for how they work in a garden. Nuts-and-bolts articles go into the why and not
just the how. This isn't the most lavish-looking garden magazine out there, but
it shows a high level of respect for the skills and intelligence of its
audience. A year's subscription is an education.
17. The Atlantic Monthly. From the average turmoil of everyday
political wrangling, this magazine takes a refreshing step back. As
it disentangles foreign and domestic priorities as complicated as
war, immigration and Social Security, the Atlantic filters volumes of chaotic
nonsense into clear, insightful and even lyrical commentary on the nation's
most critical concerns. A lively literary section also offers poetry, artwork
and illuminating book reviews.
18. Entertainment Weekly. We love "ask a critic." We love Lisa
Schwarzbaum. We love Joel Stein -- whoops, he doesn't work there
anymore. OK, so Entertainment Weekly isn't perfect -- Stephen King is a
novelist, folks, not a columnist -- but it's the best magazine out there for
those of us who want/need a weekly pop culture fix.
19. Esquire. A January cover line proclaiming "Enlightenment {bull}
Illumination {bull} Sandwiches" best sums up our appreciation for
Esquire. It's a magazine full of beautiful contradictions, the kind
that can drool over Scarlett Johansson's lips in one spread and then, a mere 20
pages later, sincerely prod President Bush with sound advice for creating "a
future worth living." Smart and savvy with fine writing and design, it's a book
that plies humor, style and sexuality without any of the strip-club obviousness
that laddie
magazines so love.
20. The New Yorker. Don't get us wrong, we're still devoted to The
New Yorker. But this impeccably pedigreed magazine -- the shrine at
which all writers worth their Dorothy Parker souvenir cocktail
shakers worship -- has slipped. The "Talk of the Town" barely feels
like the talk of the block. The political coverage has been only so-
so; witness the recent "Duh" profile of Sen. John McCain. On a
happier note, Larissa MacFarquhar's profiles continue to sing -- a
look at playwright Michael Frayn was a spectacular piece of
intellectual journalism -- and week after week, Anthony Lane and
David Denby still produce the world's best movie criticism. Note to
New Yorker editors: We only point out the negatives because we care. Maybe too
much.
21. Paste. The editors of Paste think they are cooler than we are.
And they're probably right. Hip without sacrificing credibility on
the altar of corporately deemed "cool," Paste anchors its music, film and pop
cultural coverage to the esoteric, even geeky, with cover stories on movie
director wunderkind Wes Anderson and piano rock star Ben Folds. Each issue
comes with a sample CD, and if you're a subscriber, a CD and DVD. Plus, where
else are you going to find a four-page spread on neo-folky Damien Jurado --
written by a former roommate, no less?
22. Country Living. This monthly has made the transition from "how to turn your
milk can into a cute kitchen stool" to a more sophisticated and entertaining
decorating and gardening magazine. Favorite feature: "What is it? What's it
worth?" -- an "Antiques Road Show" approach to valuing items that readers find
in their barns or in Granny's parlor.
23. Consumer Reports. Looking for the best protective treatment to
keep your back-yard deck looking grill-ready this summer? Want to
know whether that expensive pomegranate juice is worth the four
bucks? Maybe not. But you can bet that if you have a consumer-related question,
Consumer Reports has the straight skinny with its shoot-from-the-hip, unbiased
style. And let's not forget the Holy Grail, CR's new-car buying guide.
24. GQ. Long a sleeping giant, the ever-thick fashion bible has found fresh,
vivacious life. Reimagined by a new(-ish) editor, Gentleman's Quarterly
suddenly feels accessible and practical. Can't afford that $2,500 Armani suit?
With choices to fit a number of budgets, stylishness suddenly seems reasonable.
But it's not all lapel collars and cuff links -- there's terrific writing and
criticism too. The Verge -- a primer to the hippest in pop culture -- might be
its best innovation yet, not to mention the magazine's design and photography,
which are easily some of the best of any book on the newsstand. All together,
it's a sharp read. Very GQ, indeed.
25. Armchair General. This year-old bimonthly is focused to an
admirable degree. Its July issue allows readers to strategize the
Battle of Ai, with you, as Joshua, against the Canaanites, or control tanks at
the Battle of Mtsensk. You can read "Blunders and Carnage: The Battle of
Waterloo" and tsk-tsk Napoleon too. The audience appears to be hard-core gamers
and military history buffs, and who's to say that they don't need love too?
26. The Economist. It quickly and easily puts the world's weekly news and
economic report at your fingertips. A recent issue highlighted Mayor Richard
Daley and Gov. Rod Blagojevich's sagging approval ratings along with taking a
stab at explaining the vexing problems within Chile's military establishment.
Ever informative, well-written and concise, it is in-dispensable for those who
want to keep abreast of world affairs.
27. Mojo. If nothing else, this serious British music mag will
probably never, ever put a picture of Britney on the cover. Mojo is
less about pop tarts and chart-toppers --than it is about the
concerns of the fanatical, music-loving reader. In fact, rather than trying to
sell you something, Mojo gives it away. Each issue comes
with an awesome mixed CD (May's cover story: "Lou Reed: A Lifetime of Pain with
Rock's Mr. Angry"; free CD: "Mojo Mod Club Party,"
featuring mid-'60s cuts from the Small Faces, The Animals and Bettye Swann).
28. Robb Report. It caters to the most nouveau of the nouveau riche, and we
know we're not supposed to be drawn in by page after page of
articles on rich-boy toys, but we totally are. Who knew that -- for a price --
you can go scuba diving in the Arctic Ocean, or that it's possible to buy a
special watch-winding case that will keep all your Rolexes wound up and "fully
exercised"? And as the foremost
chronicler of shameless, hedonistic luxury, the Robb Report is
surprisingly readable.
29. Shambhala Sun. This magazine, which bills itself as being
about "Buddhism, culture, meditation, life," could be a hopeless
morass of Zen-inspired navel-gazing, but it's not. It's a clear-eyed, lively
and thoughtful journal of spiritual exploration and the practical applications
of the principles of mindfulness and
meditation to everyday life. How meditation affects health, mental
well-being and even politics are popular topics, but the staff also
knows how to gently poke fun at the stereotypes.
30. Outside. OK, most of us are never going to climb giant rock
formations in Utah or train for our fifth Tour de France, but it's
great to be an armchair extreme sports geek. We love the exhilarating
photography and writing, not to mention the fabulous features on gadgets and
clothing that will work for those of us whose idea of roughing it involves
battling the plunging wind chill at a Bears game. Added bonus: great info on
out-of-the-way lodges and resorts where you can hike and whitewater raft -- or
not.
31. Organic Style. Want to dismiss this mag as a convergence of the
yuppie fetish for all things "natural" and the yuppie desire for
fluffy lifestyle magazines? Well, first you might want to check out
the magazine's extensive, exhaustively reported article on the
relative safety of drinking water around the country. Given the
number of traditional stores stocking organic items these days, it's good to
have a source that can help you navigate all the products
that are out there. And as for fluffy, why not an article on fun fake fur?
Natural and organic aren't code words for dour and dowdy
anymore, and OS gets that.
32. Traditional Home. Some of us hate midcentury modern furniture and decor.
There, we said it -- we hate it! All those sleek lines and spare styles leave a
lot of us very cold. Give us a cozy library with wood paneling, or a kitchen
with a fireplace, some soft, inviting sofas and warm, rich colors. You can find
all that in Traditional Home, which showcases a savvy mixture of a slightly
countrified look with a dignified yet cozy style. For people who live in homes
that feature interiors that would make Mies van der Rohe weep, this is the
decor magazine of choice.
33. Chronicle of Higher Education. Who'd a thunk it? What used to be a bland,
rather nondescript job bulletin for gypsy scholars has
gradually turned into one of the sharpest, most topical intellectual
journals around. Incisive, up-to-the-minute essays and terrific
investigative pieces on academic practices make this an indispensable read.
Because of his brilliant Chronicle essays, Carlin Romano was a finalist for the
2005 Pulitzer Prize in criticism.
34. US Weekly. The just-wanna-have-fun little sister to the more
venerable People. And like many scrappy siblings, it sometimes
outshines its competition. The mag's signature "Stars -- They're Just Like Us"
feature epitomizes its tongue-in-cheek approach to our fascination with
movie-star minutiae: A photo of Lindsay Lohan
shopping is scrawled with the caption: "They push the grocery cart!"
Its "Fashion Police" pages feature photos of stars in bad outfits
with comics making cracks about them. In the end, US allows us to
laugh at the celebs -- as well as at ourselves.
35. Washington Monthly. This original and insightful political
magazine avoids DC's too-slick spin doctors and steers clear of the
pack mentality that infects the journalism establishment. An ever-
changing stable of gifted writers, many of whom go on to spots in big-time
newspaper and magazine work, provides a provocative and
accessible look at complex issues of the day. You don't need to be an insider
or political junkie to appreciate it.
36. Fine Homebuilding. For serious weekend warriors (the doers, not
the dreamers), Fine Homebuilding delivers a fine, how-to helping
hand. Stories are written by people who actually know what they're
doing. That would be builders and contractors, not journalists. And
in addition to tackling popular projects (i.e. installing a pedestal sink), the
magazine also takes on more esoteric problems such as how to make your drywall
seams disappear and how it's possible to lay
hardwood over a concrete slab.
37. Birds & Blooms. When a robin cocks its head to the side, what is it doing?
When roses are grafted, can they change color? Do you know the answers to these
questions? Do you care? You do if you're a lover of back-yard nature. Birds &
Blooms is loaded with all kinds of tips for your flower garden -- from building
it to maintaining it -- and information about the denizens on wing that inhabit
that garden.
38. Twins. Twins magazine alternates between amateurish and
endearing -- not a bad combination, actually -- and you've got to
love the feature in which people send in photos of their kids and you try to
figure out which ones are identical/fraternal. You've also got to love that
Twins insists on calling the kids "monozygotic" and "dizygotic," not
identical/fraternal. OK, these people have their quirks. But in a world of
slick prefab parenting magazines, Twins has personality to spare.
39. Essence. In celebration of the professional black woman, Essence is the
magazine that many women of color rely on to get career
advice, read about celebrities, find the hottest new swimsuit or
learn how to become financially secure. It also unflinchingly tackles
controversial topics such as race and gender issues.
40. Photo District News. Ever wonder how photographers make those
quirky, beautiful Kohler ads? How a New York Times shooter fared in
Fallujah? For professionals and amateurs, anyone who loves
photography in all its forms, PDN offers a banquet of information
each month -- news on how smaller newspapers are covering social
issues, the latest digital technology, features on unknown-but-gifted
photographers on the cusp of discovery, insider gossip on photo's movers and
shakers. It's all in there.
41.The Week. Essentially a blog on glossy paper, The Week excerpts,
borrows and poaches from other news sources and stitches together a
concise, compelling Polaroid of world news. Seldom more than 42
pages, The Week is smart reading for those of us who want our current events
lesson to be brisk, to the point and complete in our 30-minute train ride.
42. Film Comment. For true cinephiles, Film Comment provides that
cherished sweaty-palmed read six times a year. Academic without being
sawdust-dry or alienating, the magazine offers pithy, precise
profiles and reviews from Amy Taubin, Tribune vet Dave Kehr and a
host of talented writers. With timely covers and a devotion to
international cinema, Film Comment still surprises with thoughtful
retrospective interviews with the likes of Dustin Hoffman.
43. Mad. Smirk if you like, but where else will you find such
unapologetically sophomoric pop cultural satire as 25 Least Powerful People in
Sports, "LOTS" (a riff on TV's "Lost"), "Disparate No-
Lives" or "BattymanBegone"? And, of course, there's always Spy vs.
Spy. Some of us are still kids at heart, and so we wallow in it.
44. Chicago. If you're a true Chicagoan -- or want to be -- you read Chicago
magazine. Its cabal of editors and writers snatches the most intriguing local
news headlines and digs deep into them, producing
narratives that reveal the inside story on the Pritzker family's high-stakes
feuds, for instance, or William Kennedy Smith's latest battle against sexual
misconduct charges. Add in exhaustive reviews of suburban and city restaurants,
plus news-you-can-use service packages ("Weekend Getaways," "The New South
Side"), and you've got a city magazine (owned by the Tribune Company) with the
journalistic heft and professional polish of the best national publications.
45. HELLO! This Brit-based magazine uses words like "Antipodean" to
describe Nicole Kidman, making us feel much less like we're wasting
our time on celebrity junk. Then there are the photos you won't find in
American magazines, such as ex-Mick Jagger spouse Jerry Hall's
cellulite and Elizabeth Hurley's remarkable eye wrinkles. Plus the
Brit recipes in the back (toffee banana toasties; super sarnies,
whatever they are) are a hoot.
46. Money. A recent top-to-bottom overhaul has recast the financial-
planning book with a more family-friendly approach. No longer just a get-rich
investment guide, the newer, softer Money helps us figure
out how to best spend what we've already got. Steeped in dollars and sense,
every page is packed with nuggets of the knowledge necessary
to get ahead. Well-organized and delectably packaged, this monthly is a read
our wallets depend on.
47. Lincoln Lore. All Lincoln, all the time. With 1,880 issues over
the past 76 years, this is "the longest continuously published
periodical devoted exclusively to Abraham Lincoln," its editors at
the Lincoln Museum in Ft. Wayne, Ind., brag. A rich treasury of
scholarship about the 16th U.S. president -- from his clothes to his poetry to
his assassin -- the Lore was originally a weekly and is now published
quarterly. You can get it by joining Friends of the Lincoln Museum (minimum
annual membership: $30), or for $5.95 in the museum gift shop.
48. Whole Dog Journal. Still the all-round best mix of training tips,
products/nutrition advice and balanced, veterinary and holistic health info.
Accepts no advertising. We love the series of articles on canine physiology
that's taking us on a trip around the pooch.
49. Absolute. It's like seeing a gorgeous person across the room at a party,
and edging close enough to eavesdrop and then discovering -- to your utter
surprise -- that the hottie has a high IQ. This new
magazine looks for all the world like a typically sleek, empty-headed bauble,
but the articles are surprisingly sharp and funny. It's also passionate about
its subject -- New York City, from its neighborhoods to its foodstuffs. The
profiles of artists and designers are fascinating, getting well beneath a
subject's skin; ditto for the histories of noted New York buildings.
50. Lake Superior Magazine. If cactus and arid deserts take your
breath away, it's not for you. On the other hand, if pine woods,
birch and cold lakes are what you're about, Lake Superior Magazine
should be on your reading list. From Duluth to Sault Ste. Marie,
Thunder Bay to Grand Marais, the magazine covers everything from
restaurants to lodging to travel ideas to best fishing holes and
more. Lake Superior touts itself as "the magazine about the world's
largest fresh-water lake and the people who visit and live there,"
and that pretty much sums it up.
10 best magazine Web sites
(in alphabetical order)
Ew.com (entertainment weekly)
FamilyFun.go.com
Newyorker.com
People.aol.com/people (People magazine)
Realsimple.com
Salon.com*
Slate.com*
Sportsillustrated.cnn.com
Tvguide.com
Wired.com
*Web-only magazines
Contributing: Kevin Williams, Ellen Warren, Sanhita Sen, Nara
Schoenberg, Maureen Ryan, Patrick T. Reardon, Jason McKean, Lilah
Lohr, Charles Leroux, Karen Klages, Julia Keller, Patrice M. Jones,
Michael Hawthorne, Lucinda Hahn, Hugo Espinoza, Monica Eng, Robert K.
Elder, Amy Dickinson, Robin Daughtridge, Randall Curwen, Elizabeth
Botts, Tim Bannon.
YOUR TURN
What are your favorite magazines and why? Write to: Tempo, 435 N.
Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611. E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or
post your opinion at: chicagotribune.com/magazines. Please include
your full name and your hometown.
Chicago Tribune, June 23, 2005
Ungkapkan opini Anda di: http://mediacare.blogspot.com
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