Quote Originally Posted by RGA
Magazines are an industry unto themselves and most all of them are FUN to read.
Agreed. As a "how-to" manual for building a system - or even choosing a component - they are a bit of a waste of time. But many of them are enjoyable reads. My all time favorite audio magazine was Listener because they were totally irreverant as far as what equipment was good and what wasn't, they actually listened to the product, and the writing was entertaining.

TAS has good articles about industry news and audio basics. I rarely if ever read their reviews, mostly for the reasons you cited but I do enjoy the fact that they review lesser known manufacturers' gear such as the Wyetech Labs preamp I own. Once proud Stereophile no longer graces my bookshelf. I enjoy the Brit mags when I can find them. I've seen some of the Audio Critic issues and found them very humorous, and thus, enjoyable. The Sensible Sound has excellent music reviews.

The bottom line is that these mags pander to their audience... which makes perfect sense, of course! So my advice to anyone asking would be to buy the mag that is closest to your particular bent. Use them to create a short list of components to audition. But don't for a minute take them to biblical proportions.