Maxim (1-year auto-renewal)

Maxim rode the men's magazine gold rush in the late 1990s, leading Stuff, FHM and a host of other PG-13 fare that filled the convenience store racks as Playboy, Penthouse and the hard cores were either dropped completely or were tucked behind the clerk hidden behind individual black plastic wrappers.

Maxim is the last Laddie still in print in the U.S., having witnessed the print burials for FHM (1996 to 2007) and Stuff (1998 to 2007). Maxim's putrefaction is evident to its subscribers, hence the heavily discounted subscriber rates available today. If you were unfortunate enough to receive a gift subscription to Maxim or, worse yet, bought one for yourself, you can no doubt bear witness to the decay. The magazine simply isn't interesting or compelling to read. You could find more of everything women, entertainment, food and fashion in a 10-minute Google search.

Ask yourself, why are you buying a men's magazine?

Want to admire beautiful women? Choose Playboy or Penthouse.

Want to stay healthy and fit? Choose Men's Health (preferred) or Men's Fitness (for younger audiences).

Want to peruse fashion and lifestyle? Choose Esquire or GQ (beware the cologne samples though).

Want a little of everything? Choose Details or Men's Journal.

Pick any of the above options, especially if you are buying a gift subscription. Just avoid Maxim.

Once upon a time this was a good magazine worth reading cover to cover. Unfortunately they've slowly been replacing content with more and more advertising. As the magazine currently stands you could probably finish reading the actual "content" in about an hour. The rest is advertising and BS. This magazine jumped the shark a long long time ago. Just let it die already like it's supposed to.

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I've been a loyal subscriber since 1998 and have always enjoyed the magazine. Something happened to them in early 2006 they've either been bought or have hired a new editor / staff or something. This magazine is absolutely terrible now. All ads, fewer and fewer pictures of babes in each issue, and the hilarious articles are now long gone. My last two issues (Sept and Oct) were in the trash within minutes of pulling them from my mailbox. I'm canceling my subscription.

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I thought the original goal of Maxim was the be the next GQ, but with more skin and less pretense. The skin is there (and, no, guys don't care about the software editors use to enhance the models), but the substance is not.

Like every other checkout stand mag, ads now fill the lion's share of Maxim's pages. Reviews are more and more insipid, covering things many men probably don't care about. The humor is still respectable for the crowd it's aimed at.

I guess Maxim is the magazine for guys who can't read.... or need a hipper supplement to whatever nude mags litter their desks. Bottom line: if you want a skin mag, go with Maxim, but be aware that the level of wit and intelligence is declining all around.

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Maxim aims itself straight at what the straight male psyche likes: laughter, girls, and bizarre subjects (such as "How to Survive Torture", a topic in the September 2001 issue).

... this magazine is not just about sex and bad taste. It celebrates male life, and it does this without apology. Men have apologized far too much; the people who seem to think maleness needs to be "fixed" are maladjusted [people] who would never cut men any slack anyway, no matter how "sensitive" or politically correct men pretend to be, so men might as well party. Maxim is the technical journal of this attitude!

Maxim and some other men's magazines (like Men's Health) have discovered a formula that works to keep men reading: To-the-point articles thoroughly interleaved with humor and banter; lots of photographs and descriptive drawings; and topics ranging from sex and seduction to war and first aid. Lots of practical information and lots of truly excellent photos of sexy women that are not raunchy.

If I could only read one men's magazine, this would be it.

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