The Top Ten Magazine Covers of 2014: The Completely Biased, Highly Subjective and Unscientific List

Editor's Note: Music to accompany this post courtesy of the band formerly known as the "10,000 Maniacs" and YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXnDGEM2oOg

So how was 2014 for the world of magazines? Let's line up the staff and see what they have to say for themselves:

Ad sales, aw so sorry. It wasn't a really stellar year was it? At least your bonus wasn't a box of rocks or a pink slip.

That star of the industry, social media? Some question your worth. Seriously. What is a 'like' and how are we to monetize it?

Editors? Why are you all backing away from our friends at Wenner Media? Why are you scanning resumes from the folk who used to work at that space that is now vertically integrated and formerly known as The New Republic.

Production? Yeah, you guys are the bomb. And always so stressed out! Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. Yeah, we get it.

Hey circulation? Where'd they go? Did we outsource everyone? Oh...What are you doing hiding in Storage Room B? The year wasn't all that bad. OK newsstand kids, yeah, it really did stink, didn't it.

Sorry, I shouldn't be so glib.

But the art department? This was a great year. There were so many  beautiful magazines published. It's clear production values and artistic integrity is something the industry has not lost sight of.

What's the methodology here for these cover selections? It's simple. What made me stop, back up, reach out and pluck off the rack. What did I see online that made me stop, bookmark, then head down the street to the closest newsstand to see what it looked like IRL?

So here it is: The Best Magazine Covers of 2014. The Completely Biased, Highly Subjective and Unscientific List.

1) What a great year for actress Lupita Nyong'o. Critical acclaim for her role in the movie 12 Years A Slave led to a host of magazine covers and more movie roles. But the cover that has held up for an entire year and continues to dazzle me is the Jan/Feb '14 UK import Dazed and Confused.

2)  I still have to pinch myself when considering the fact that The Harvard Business Review has a paid circulation base of over 200,000 copies with an average sub price of $90.00 per year. This is the cover from March that got me to stop, back up, admire, pick up, take home and learn more.

3) What fashion magazine doesn't have a "Beauty Issue"? None that I can think of. And don't the experts warn against 'dark backgrounds'? The May issue of W Magazine featuring actress Rosamund Pike removing her makeup is a wonderful example of how sometimes, ignoring the warning can pay off.

4) The BusinessWeek that we get from Bloomburg is a far cry from the staid and "very serious" magazine that the McGraw-Hill company used to publish. That doesn't mean that the editorial is not serious. Today's BusinessWeek is a seriously great read. But former creative director Richard Turley and his successor, Richard Vargas have shown us both the whimsical and the serious with equal forceful impact. The August 28th cover shows the serious.

5) Mary Harris 'Mother' Jones was a 19th century union organizer and self-proclaimed hell raiser. Her namesake magazine Mother Jones has survived into the 21st century and adapted to the digital age rather well. Leaving their politics aside (if you need to), this cover from the Jul/Aug '14 issue really captured the old-fashioned National Enquirer/Star/Globe feel and did a great job of poking the 1%.

6) If it seems like The New Yorker always makes these lists it's probably because it does. But that's because their covers are wonderfully original and there's many to choose from. This years' selection is actual a gif from German artist Christopher Niemann from the October 6th issue. While you don't see the gif on the print cover, it's a great image and a great example of digital and print complementing each other.

7) There are certain newsstand people I know who would be shocked by the placement of the UPC code on the Jul/Aug issue of MIT Technology Review. But what the heck, the combination of Monty Pythonesque head popping imagery with '60's style graphics is compelling. And so are the articles inside.

8) How can you not love a magazine put out by a publishing company named 'Unfiltered Media Group' that is all about beer? The winter issue of  Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine put a clever twist on seasonal dark ale and also made a not surprising, but very solid call out to the holiday season in their skyline.

9) I've long been a sucker for UK and Aussie imports to my neighborhood Barnes & Noble and I've always loved the idea of multiple covers in a bundle. Wonderland Magazine,  a fashion and lifestyle import from the England kicked off 2014 with dual covers and guest editorial from actress and recent college graduate, Emma Watson.

10) How many magazines and book a zines dropped the week after actor and comedian Robin Williams passed away? I lost count after six. But far and away, the one that captured the essence and humanity of the much-loved actor was the September 11th cover from regular frequency publisher Rolling Stone.

So what were your favorites from 2014? Drop your covers, suggestions and thoughts in the comments section below.

Best Launch: But wait! There's more! In 2011 and 2012 I published a "Runner's Up" list. I gave some thought to doing that again this year but as I've already published two lists of the "Best of, so far" for 2014, it seems to make sense to instead offer a "Best Launch" call out.

In so many ways, Indie Chick Magazine exemplifies everything a start-up publisher is supposed to be: hard-working, dedicated to their readers and their content, willing to experiment with the format, and most of all, unafraid (or as the publishers would prefer to say, 'Bad Ass').

Indie Chick got their first issue out onto the stands this year and while the national draw was small, the response from readers has been terrific. What's also really stood out for me is that the publishers also offer a website that goes deep with editorial, a radio podcast and very active and entertaining social media from both the formal magazine site and the owners. Even more impressive, the publishers funded their Fall issue with an IndieGogo campaign.

Congratulations to the thoroughly 'Bad Ass' publishers of Indie Chick Magazine for a great start in 2014 and the best wishes for an even more successful

If you have a launch from 2014 that you think deserves some special mention, drop me a line. I'd be happy to give them a call out.