For years I had a subscription to Backpacker magazine, however by the late 90's to early 2000's their focus slowly changed to its current state, which Izzy correctly observed of catering to the high end and expensive (and not necessarily knowledgeable) crowd.

That said. If you want a real trip back in time when BP magazine was at it's best and in an era when backpacking and hiking was in it's modern infancy, Google Books has scanned archives going to 1973. These old magazines contain a lot of great info that was just as relevant then as it is today...and perhaps more so in many aspects. Reading the stories of that era and seeing the old gear that was state of the art back then, sure gives a great perspective and pause for thought on how easy we have it today in terms of gear selection and technology.