Which one of those curmudgeons is mountaindave? Surely not the guy with the cell phone!

I went through the same experience with guitar magazines in the 1990s. They were all about buying new guitars and amplifiers and effects pedals. Instead of encouraging me to play, they made me sad that I didn't own the expensive products shown in the magazine.

Internet forums replaced consumer magazines for me. There are still some good ones out there, like National Geographic and Reader's Digest, which has somewhat redeemed itself in the last couple years, IMO, but most are simply advertisements disguised as product reviews, in between the obvious advertisements.