El croquis

Hmmm.. I was looking to choose from the list that I put in the first paragraph, not new ones.

I prefer Detail out of your list because they are quite up to date with their buildings selection and also the focus on construction. What other students usually say though is that the construction shown are sometimes too unique to be universally applied - but once you get over it and understand just the concept, particularly once you are adept in reading drawings, it can be quite useful.

You should also have a second thought before omitting El Croquis from the list. This is a very popular magazine that students (and architects) use to understand specific architects and their works.

Edit: I just realised you are not a student of architecture yet, so Detail may be a bit too much to begin with. 

Volume or Architectural Digest .. they seem to cover lots of experimental architecture and urban issues

Detail is too much "techno porno" for where you are at right now, I'd reckon. For me, it would feel like starting at the wrong end: understanding / figuring out the technical details, before you got a solid foundation in design / concept thinking, and the connection between architecture and society.

Thus, I'd opt for a magazine that exposes you to a lot of different projects, styles and ideas, to get a feeling for what you are really interested in, instead of delving too deep in the specifics of a detail too soon.

Thus, I'd say El Croquis, too. Good project descriptions, including interviews with the architects etcetera. On the down side: not that many issues are released a year (two or three, I'd guess), and they are insanely expensive. Architectural record might be good, too. or what about a magazine like A10? Cheap, rather superficial, but still a lot of information and projects from a European perspective.

Just peeking in. Does El Croquis ship to Australia? The only ones I've ever been reading are Arch Review, Artichoke, Architecture Australia and Wallpaper*. But I mostly read Wallpaper* because it's got fashion trends in it too if you're into that stuff. I've heard great things about Detail but I'm still a beginner and it wasn't something I could really delve into just yet.

What about the Sports Illustrated? I like their college football coverage.

Rolling Stone back in the day, when they actually covered real musicians.

I wouldn't recommend People. Too much coverage on the Kardashians.

matt taibbi at rolling stones is pretty good, but as you mention it's not music.  also, you can find his work online.

That's the problem. RS used to be a music mag covering musicians that actually had something to say, and a lot of groundbreaking acts owe their big break to them. It degenerated into a vile political rag.

Mark, Plan, Elephant.

Go online and look for what you need. Archdaily and others cover most projects a magazine would.

Learn to find key words for search engines to give you a big sample in an instant of a material or project.

Additionally, a lot of good design magazines are not architecture per se. There are graphic design magazines, art, photography, landscape architecture, planning and others which would be worthwhile to read. If I had known that sooner in my education it would have helped me prepare for each project to have a different perspective on design.

One last note, look at professional journals online or at a library. They have a lot of surprisingly good content these days. Things like lighting design, facility management, http://enr.construction.com/e, etc. Don't limit yourself to architecture, the design world has many useful sources of information. Devour it all.

I would recommend these:

L'architecture d'aujourd'hui:

http://www.boutique-aboweb.com/larchitecturedaujourdhui/www/product/index/id/2

2G:

http://wd.ggili.com/en/tienda/2g-magazine

A+U:

https://www.japlusu.com/shop/back-issues?tid=12

maghazeens? whaat, are you opening a barber shoppe young man? such a waste and fetish. you should go online already and save the trees. what's wrong with archinect? every professor knows about it.

I would recommend http://thecornerbuildingclub.com/

It's free to view online on its website. This is the publication I found that feature student school projects and gather them into how architecture ideas can bring benefits to the world. Also, this is great for peer pressure learning. (I always wonder how the other universities program and so)