$14.97  Maxim - Magazine |
$9.97  FHM - Magazine |
$12.97  Rolling Stone - Magazine |
$11.97  Stuff - Magazine |
$9.95  Spin - Magazine |
 [Larger view] | Blender
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Average user rating:  | |
 You Can't Judge a Book By It's (Exploitative) Cover! | |
| Whaddya expect from a magazine from the guys at Maxim? To look at any of the covers of this mag (Paulina Rubio, Leann Rimes, Mariah, Janet Jackson, etc etc) you'd assume that this is a super-lightweight music mag. But in fact, this is a mag chock-full of info that is much better than Rolling Stone, starting to surpass Spin, and comparable to top British mags like Q and UnCut. PROS: They bring the same cheeky humor that they do to Maxim magazine; (believe it or not, there is more to Maxim than endless pinups of Anna Kournikouva!) They review a slew of CD's every month, accomodating lower-tier acts which might otherwise get no coverage; they have a section where they cover every CD in an act's career, letting you know what's worth buying (Stevie Wonder, Queen, Steely Dan being just a few of the subjects) They've got tons of snarky little USA Today-like polls, factoids, news items, etc etc. Even their interviews with the cover pinups are fairly in-depth. CONS: Not exactly going to win any praise from NOW; still a bit too mainstream as far as the big interview stories are concerned. Would be nice to see some smaller acts get more coverage as Conor Oberst gets in the latest ish. I can't speak for the ordering delays: I'm just relating what's in the magazine. OVERALL: A fine, entertaining read that contains a lot of info that the true music lover can really use. | |
 My favorite music magazine | |
| This magazine has it all. I have read and subscribe to Rolling Stone and Spin, and this is a true music lovers magazine. They always have at least 200 CD's reviewed, which is great and very helpful in buying music, and have great articles on all of the hottest stars. It takes a great humorous approach to alot of things, and has alot of ads for popular musicians, which i myself like to tear out and collect. My favorite group in the world is Radiohead, and they have never failed to make less than great article on them. They use the 1-5 star review scale, as rolling stone does. They also have articles on people's accumulated music collections, and also have reviews on a particular artist's every album. For instance, in the July issue, they looked at Prince, and reviewed every album, and categorized them into "Must Haves" (sign o' the times, controversy) all the way down to "Just for Fans" (rave un2 the joy fantastic). This is a true music person's magazine, although they do use alot of sex to sell their magazine. But who's complaining about that? Its a great music magazine, and if you have one music magazine, let this one to be it. The only other complaint i have is that it is Bimonthly, so i have to wait longer to get it! | |
| Blenders Great Mix. | |
| Good magazine with a great reviews section(though I don't agree completely with some of their ratings). Some of the sections they can do without (Useful Tips From The Stars, Gear Guide), but most are quite entertaining. A good mixture of entertainers from Hip-Hop, Rock, Jazz and pretty well most genres. I can't agree with their emphasis on downloading music (After reviewing a CD, they mention the best songs to download in the April 2004 issue). Encouraging people to download music is contrary to the success of the music industry. Though CD's are a bit pricey, we read a music magazine so we can get a clearer picture of what's good out there, so we're not throwing away money carelessly. Overall, very good read for music fans and humurous enough at times to cause a chuckle. Some great front covers. |
