Top 40 Magazine Covers of the Last 40 Years

October 18, 2005 12:03 AM

Top 40 Magazine Covers of the Last 40 Years as selected by the American Society of Magazine Editors.
posted by kirkaracha (32 comments total)

Some background and descriptions. "Of the top multiple-winners, Esquire, Time and Life magazines each had four covers."
posted by kirkaracha at 12:05 AM on October 18, 2005

Neat. Cool they chose that issue of Blue. When it came out I stole a portion of that image and collaged it with some others for one of my first business cards. Hadn't seen that cover in years.
posted by dobbs at 12:30 AM on October 18, 2005

Thanks, kirkaracha, these were good to see again.
But where's Art Spiegleman's Easter Bunny crucified on an IRS form? (Sorry, couldn't find the image.)
posted by maryh at 12:31 AM on October 18, 2005

as soon as i saw the text of this fpp, my first thought was "that national lampoon with the dog better be on there." it was, and i am now satisfied.
posted by shmegegge at 12:32 AM on October 18, 2005

What, no Mad?
posted by kosher_jenny at 12:45 AM on October 18, 2005

Some just seem there as token "moments." But overall, quite impressed, because these top-# lists tend to be very lame.
posted by Mach3avelli at 12:47 AM on October 18, 2005

Mad
posted by trondant at 12:48 AM on October 18, 2005

Here are my favorite 3500 magazine covers of the past 100 years:
posted by jbum at 12:49 AM on October 18, 2005

Very cool, jbum.
posted by maryh at 1:50 AM on October 18, 2005

indeed, that's swank jbum

As for the FPP, that Esquire cover of Clinton is bad ass -- Great find, good stuff.
posted by undule at 2:43 AM on October 18, 2005

Great FPP but can someone the significance of Glamour (#37)?
posted by oliyoung at 3:34 AM on October 18, 2005

oliyoung: The first mainstream American women's magazine to feature an African-American model on it's cover.

What is the significance of the 1974 People cover of Mia Farrow? (#26)

I have to admit I've never liked the Lennon/Ono shot, it makes him look like some kind of parasitic creature. Not saying that isn't interesting, just that it engenders a negative reaction in me.
posted by biffa at 3:57 AM on October 18, 2005

The Mia Farrow People was the first issue.

(What's not in my brain to make room for that trivia?)
posted by SashaPT at 3:58 AM on October 18, 2005

It would be nice if there was a follow up to what the cover was about.
posted by monkeyJuice at 4:52 AM on October 18, 2005

You can't trust the editors at magazine.org, they've got a hidden agenda of magazine promotion. For shame.
posted by blue_beetle at 5:59 AM on October 18, 2005

This list means nothing without the infamous July 1974 Cat Fancy.
posted by Cookiebastard at 6:11 AM on October 18, 2005

I generally ignore these 'top xx' lists because I hardly ever agree with them, but when I read this one, the first cover that came to mind was the Lampoon dog cover... and it's included in their top ten.

I approve.
posted by davelog at 6:13 AM on October 18, 2005

I can't be the only person who finds the Dec. 10, 2001 New Yorker (New Yorkistan) way overrated. Some great picks otherwise, including ones (like Demi Moore) of which I never would have thought.
posted by allen.spaulding at 6:21 AM on October 18, 2005

Link isn't working. :(
posted by Optimus Chyme at 6:41 AM on October 18, 2005

Seems more like they were chosen more for the significance of their content than for their design aesthetic. Although some are outstanding in that area as well.
posted by orange swan at 6:42 AM on October 18, 2005

Never mind; working now. I really miss magazine covers without eighty separate blocks of text of them.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 6:48 AM on October 18, 2005

Still broken for me.
posted by cillit bang at 7:11 AM on October 18, 2005

Broken for me too, but the "background and descriptions" link lists them.

6. The New Yorker – Sept. 24, 2001 – 9/11 – Twin towers drawing in all black against a gray skyline
7. National Lampoon – January 1973 – “If you don’t buy this magazine, we’ll kill this dog” – Man pointing gun at terrified dog

If either of those had been missing, I'd have cried foul. As it is, I'm satisfied. And jbum, that link is fantastic! (Also amazing, astounding, and full of thrilling wonder.)
posted by languagehat at 7:33 AM on October 18, 2005

Darn it, the link is down, but you can at least see the top three covers on the main page. And the jbum link rocks -- thanks!
posted by blahblahblah at 7:54 AM on October 18, 2005

Thanks for the entertaining link kirkaracha (yr username made me smile too:).

I'd never seen a number of the covers and figured their significance was historically meaningful as well as visually interesting. I thought there should be brief, informative captions on the image page itself, historical significance included where appropriate. It seems that magazine.org may have now deliberately cut the link? I'm glad I got to see it while the link was working.

The New Yorkistan cover was hilarious and bravely mischievous in light of it being the cover of the New Yorker only 3 months after the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers.

The Life Magazine one dated April 30, 1965, “Drama of life before birth”, with the fetus in womb was one that deeply impressed me as a kid and has stayed with me since.

Usually conservative, The Economist one dated Sept. 10-16, 1994 with the omg copulating camels apparently depicting “The Trouble with Mergers", gave me a good guffaw.

The New York cover dated June 8, 1970 with upper east side society matrons posing with radical chic fists upraised captioned “Free Leonard Bernstein” is a jab at his hanging out with the Black Panthers.
posted by nickyskye at 8:01 AM on October 18, 2005

p.s. I agree with languagehat about jbum's way cool sci-fi covers link, just the technology is amazing.

There are a few other fun magazine cover sites worth poking around for fun and nostalgia.
posted by nickyskye at 8:16 AM on October 18, 2005

How could they have forgotten Spy Magazine's monroe-esque cover shot of Hillary?
posted by JackFlash at 9:47 AM on October 18, 2005

What, no Famous Monsters?
posted by Superfrankenstein at 9:58 AM on October 18, 2005

One that I was expecting to see, but didn't was the O.J. Simpson TIME Magazine cover. It was the first issue after Warner bought Time-Life and they infamously altered his photo to make him look evil, rather than use a straight news photo.
posted by stevis at 1:27 PM on October 18, 2005

Time and Newsweek OJ covers, from the same mug shot.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:07 PM on October 18, 2005

I am also partial to the infamous Kim Jong Il "Greetings, earthlings" cover. Can't find a good link, but you can see a small version of it here.
posted by dougny at 8:41 PM on October 18, 2005

Speak Up critiques the covers.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:47 PM on October 28, 2005