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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Robot (1-year auto-renewal)

I love the magazine, has a lot a very useful information not available in other magazines. Pictures are amazing and the magazine is a good souce of vendors information.

I have not received the magazine as of yet! I am not too hapy with that. Check back with me when I receive it.

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Vanity Fair July 2007 Africa Issue, Keys/Jay-Z Cover

Although I wish I'd gotten the one with Chris Rock and Maya Angelou on the cover, I think the one with Jay-Z and Alicia Keys is hot too. I picked up the one with Jay-Z on it because I was trying to figure out who the light-skinned lady was. Without the eye make-up and braids, I'd probably pass her on the street and not even know who she was. Even though I enjoyed the different covers, I don't understand why Bush and Condoleeza were on there at all; doesn't he have have an oil war to finish and her shoe shopping during a national crisis should be about now, right?

Enough with my political opinions. I knew what Jay-Z and Alicia Keys had in common and low and behold, I saw the word Africa at the bottom. I have to give much respect for this magazine for covering such a huge issue, especially in the Motherland. I am enjoying reading the historical issues in Africa, as well as what is being done about the HIV/AIDS situation. I was very proud of them for making sure to inform readers that we are all from Africa, especially since so many US schools try to avoid that.

But, my review this round is about that fool Chris Rock. I was having the worst day on the planet at work today, and I browsed through this magazine on lunch figuring I should read about someone who's really going through something. I flipped to the page with his article on "The Ugly African American" and laughed hysterically through the whole thing. My pod thought I was losing my mind but I made copies of Chris's article so they could read it too and they fell out laughing. I copied that article and passed it out to my buddies at work and they copied it and so on and so forth. Only Chris Rock could make such a serious subject seem so hilarious, and he still made sure it was informative. When he said he snatched the lollipop, my stomach hurt. I love him! Absolutely love him!