Magazines similar to Rolling Stone that are considered to be in their prime?
 

I've read various reviews and heard a few opinions stating that Rolling Stone magazine was great in its prime back in "the day", but has since fallen into mediocrity. As someone that only gained exposure to the magazine more recently, I am curious if there are any other similar magazines that are considered to be in their prime, and potentially worthy of subscription?

Spin? Blender? that's what i think of

I subscribe to Rolling Stone and enjoy reading it they are biased in their political views but they don't hide it and I lean that way anyway so doesn't bother me. They have a nice blend of music,celebrity, topical, and political articles for my tastes. I usually read well over 75% of each magazine. I've read off and on for years and personally don't think they are past their "prime" but that's my opinion "They" may say otherwise but I don't listen to "they". Tech mention "Spin" and "Blender" check those out and see if that is what you want in a read. I usually read magazines and books at lunch and the only to magazines that I read are "Rolling Stone" and "Wired".

Paste

I don't know if the RS is past its prime, it certainly is very different from what it was. the same rebels who started it grew into complacent old farts up to the early 90's. I dropped my subscription when they went crazy with the hair metal bands. Basically every interview read like, "y'know, I'm this fuckin' room and we're fuckin' trashin' it and fuck if a fuckin' groupie isn't the bathroom givin' a fuckin' roadie a fuckin' blow job."

I picked it up again in the late '90s. It was better, but magazines like Paste are much better at finding bands about to break. The writing is much better, none of that snarky crap.

the wire

The Wire: Adventures in Modern Music: Index

more to follow...

Thanks for the replies. I found an offer for Paste that allows you to set your own subscription price ($1.00 minimum), so I will check that out.

For those interested in the offer, it can be found here: https://www.pastemagazine.com/action/recordstore_offer.

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. If there are more, please share them.