History YMMV / RollingStone

* PopularityPolynomial: The late-80's/early '90s generally featured a lull in coverage toward breakthrough rock acts, preferring instead to focus on older ones such as Music/RodStewart and Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}. Their chief competitor ''Spin'' noticed this and earned acclaim and a sharp increase in subscription due to its heavy coverage of the two rising genres of the era - alternative rock and hip-hop - both of which ''Rolling Stone'' had mostly ignored aside from the occasional feature on Music/RunDMC or Music/{{REM}}. This reversed after the release of Music/{{Nirvana}}'s ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'' and Music/DrDre's ''The Chronic'' and the subsequent {{Grunge}} and GangstaRap explosions.

--> "What the [[PrecisionFStrike fuck]] happened here? Did the members of Music/{{Warrant}}, Music/MotleyCrue, Music/{{Poison}} and Bang Tango come together to stuff the ballot boxes? Who hates Nirvana? Sure, the crazy success of ''Music/{{Nevermind|Album}}'' meant that many [[TheEighties Eighties]] superstars seemed like premature has-beens, but that was inevitable. Country Joe and the Fish didn't seem very cool in 1971, either. Times change. Fans move on. You're often only as big as your last hit. But Nirvana were a great band. [[Music/BleachAlbum Their]] [[Music/{{Nevermind}} three]] [[Music/InUtero albums]] are nearly perfect, and they are guaranteed to be inducted into the UsefulNotes/RockAndRollHallOfFame next year. We're sorry, but everyone who voted for them in this poll is wrong."

--> "What the [[PrecisionFStrike fuck]] happened here? Did the members of Music/{{Warrant}}, Music/MotleyCrue, Music/{{Poison}} and Bang Tango come together to stuff the ballot boxes? Who hates Nirvana? Sure, the crazy success of ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'' meant that many [[TheEighties Eighties]] superstars seemed like premature has-beens, but that was inevitable. Country Joe and the Fish didn't seem very cool in 1971, either. Times change. Fans move on. You're often only as big as your last hit. But Nirvana were a great band. [[Music/BleachAlbum Their]] [[Music/{{Nevermind}} three]] [[Music/InUtero albums]] are nearly perfect, and they are guaranteed to be inducted into the UsefulNotes/RockAndRollHallOfFame next year. We're sorry, but everyone who voted for them in this poll is wrong."

* NeverLiveItDown: While recovered a bit from it, nobody will let Rolling Stone forget how rather crass they were on certain bands in the 60s and 70s such as Music/LedZeppelin and Music/PinkFloyd.
** In more recent years, many will either remember them putting the Boston Bomber's face on the cover or the infamous "A Rape on Campus" article where a lack of journalistic rigor lead to blatantly false rape accusations against a fraternity being published as fact.

* WereStillRelevantDammit: Invoked when Rolling Stone hired numerous younger critics who were known for their expository articles regarding political events, such as Matt Taibbi and Michael Hastings. They're also known to praise newer, more relevant music styles while ignoring artists who haven't yet had a chance to prove their staying power, and the magazine has thus been accused of hopping on bandwagons.

* PopularityPolynomial: The late-80's/early '90s generally featured a lull in coverage toward breakthrough rock acts, preferring instead to focus on older ones such as Music/RodStewart and Music/TheRollingStones. Their chief competitor ''Spin'' noticed this and earned acclaim and a sharp increase in subscription due to its heavy coverage of the two rising genres of the era - alternative rock and hip-hop - both of which ''Rolling Stone'' had mostly ignored aside from the occasional feature on Music/RunDMC or Music/{{REM}}. This reversed after the release of Music/{{Nirvana}}'s ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'' and Music/DrDre's ''The Chronic'' and the subsequent {{Grunge}} and GangstaRap explosions.

* NeverLiveItDown: Between the Boston Marathon and University of Virginia controversies, one must wonder how badly their reputation has been hurt and, if so, how long it will take to be restored.
** While recovered a bit from it, nobody will let Rolling Stone forget how rather crass they were on certain bands in the 60s and 70s such as Music/LedZeppelin and Music/PinkFloyd.
** The Music/BillieEilish article that consisted of overly dramatic PurpleProse about how much of an "icon" Eilish is due to [[InsaneTrollLogic not knowing about CDs, Nirvana, other well known bands, and the like]]. The article made Eilish suffer a bit of HypeBacklash and Rolling Stone looked like a joke for overly exaggerating Eilish in an article that could have just simply focused on anything that wasn't dramatic babble.

* PopularityPolynomial: The late-80's/early '90s generally featured a lull in coverage toward breakthrough rock acts, preferring instead to focus on older ones such as Music/RodStewart and Music/TheRollingStones. Their chief competitor ''Spin'' noticed this and earned acclaim and a sharp increase in subscription due to its heavy coverage of the two rising genres of the era - alternative rock and hip-hop - both of which ''Rolling Stone'' had mostly ignored aside from the occasional feature on Music/RunDMC or Music/{{REM}}. This reversed after the release of Music/{{Nirvana}}'s ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'' and the subsequent {{Grunge}} explosion.

* HilariousInHindsight: The band Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show released a song called "The Cover of Rolling Stone" in 1972 which made fun of artists who had "made it" by gracing the cover of the magazine. A few months after the song became a hit, the band was featured in caricature on the cover of''Rolling Stones''.

* HilariousInHindsight: The band Music/DrHookAndTheMedicineShow released a song called "The Cover of Rolling Stone" in 1972 which made fun of artists who had "made it" by gracing the cover of the magazine. A few months after the song became a hit, the band was featured in caricature on the cover of''Rolling Stones''.

* HilariousInHindsight: The band Music/DrHookAndTheMedicineShow released a song called "The Cover of Rolling Stone," which made fun of artists who had "made it" by gracing the cover of the magazine. Rolling Stone featured them years later on the cover.

* VindicatedByHistory: Albums from artists such as Music/BlackSabbath, Music/JoniMitchell, and Music/JimiHendrix were once given scathing reviews. Since then, the magazine has completely reversed its position and started to celebrate them.

* PopularityPolynomial: The late-80's/early '90s generally featured a lull in coverage toward breakthrough rock acts, preferring instead to focus on older ones such as Music/RodStewart and Music/TheRollingStones. Their chief competitor ''Spin'' noticed this and earned acclaim and a sharp increase in subscription due to its heavy coverage of the two rising genres of the era - alternative rock and hip-hop - both of which ''Rolling Stone'' had mostly ignored. This reversed after the release of Music/{{Nirvana}}'s ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'' and the subsequent {{Grunge}} explosion.

* PopularityPolynomial: The late-80's/early 90's generally featured a lull in coverage toward breakthrough rock acts, preferring instead to focus on older ones such as Music/RodStewart and Music/TheRollingStones. This reversed after the release of Music/{{Nirvana}}'s ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'' and the subsequent {{Grunge}} explosion.

* CriticalResearchFailure[=/=]StrawmanNewsMedia: May have become this with [[http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/a-rape-on-campus-what-went-wrong-2015040 the discredited "A Rape on Campus" story]]. A story alleging a culture of rape at the University of Virginia was written without basic fact-checking of the story told by the main victim ("Jackie"). Details that were easily able to be confirmed such as dates and people were eventually shown to be false by local police and the Washington Post.: The article which pointed to widespread rape occurrences on the University of Virginia campus, "A Rape on Campus," was based on allegations that turned out to be completely fabricated.
** Then there's Creator/SeanPenn's [[http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/el-chapo-speaks-20160109 interview with "El Chapo" Guzman]], a notorious drug kingpin who had escaped from UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}}'s highest-security prison only months before the interview. The article was then published in Rolling Stone following El Chapo's capture by Mexican authorities. The setup of this meeting and its culmination were so dubious that Penn was criticized by pretty much every news outlet covering the story. This also dealt a blow to Rolling Stone's identity as a verifiable news organization.
* EightPointEight: You could make a drinking game out this: look up an album that's considered to be a classic. If ''Rolling Stone'' originally gave it a score of under 4 stars, take a shot.

* SnarkBait: Some reviews and articles have been so ingratiating toward certain artists, that some people have compiled lists citing their frustration with Rolling Stone's opinions or even lampooning its selections. Examples include [[http://rateyourmusic.com/list/schmidtt/rolling_stones_500_worst_reviews_of_all_time__work_in_progress_/ Rolling Stone's 500 worst reviews of all time]] (in response to UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime) and [[https://web.archive.org/web/20100917153555/http://www.venuszine.com:80/articles/music/2575/The_Greatest_Female_Guitarists_of_All_Time The Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time]] (in response to Rolling Stone's bias toward male guitarists).
* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: Film critic Peter Travers has been known to give blurbs (quotes featured on the back of [=DVDs=]), so he often gives quotable one-liners in his reviews that are contrary to his actual opinion toward the film. This has been lampooned and criticized by many people who believe that he is only in the business for quotability.

* FollowTheLeader: The trends Rolling Stone has pioneered were based on features done by existing media magazines. These ideas have often even been recycled by the magazine itself, including featuring popular film and TV shows, using breakthrough news stories to seem more independent, and covering current events. This has even led, somewhat, to its MagazineDecay: see below.
* HilariousInHindsight: The band Music/DrHookAndTheMedicineShow released a song called "The Cover of Rolling Stone," which made fun of artists who had "made it" by gracing the cover of the magazine. Rolling Stone featured them years later on the cover.

* StillbornFranchise: Rolling Stone has tried multiple things to spread its name, from its bankrupt restaurant chain (to rival Hard Rock Cafe) to its message boards which were shut down numerous times.

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: Film critic Peter Travers has been known to give blurbs (quotes featured on the back of DVDs), so he often gives quotable one-liners in his reviews that are contrary to his actual opinion toward the film. This has been lampooned and criticized by many people who believe that he is only in the business for quotability.

* CriticalResearchFailure[=/=]StrawmanNewsMedia: May have become this with [[http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/a-rape-on-campus-what-went-wrong-2015040 the discredited "A Rape on Campus" story]]. A story alleging a culture of rape at the University of Virginia was written without basic fact-checking of the story told by the main victim ("Jackie"). Easily confirmable details such as dates and people were eventually shown to be false by local police and the Washington Post.: The article which pointed to widespread rape occurrences on the University of Virginia campus, "A Rape on Campus," was based on allegations that turned out to be completely fabricated.

* StrawmanNewsMedia: May have become this with [[http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/a-rape-on-campus-what-went-wrong-2015040 the discredited "A Rape on Campus" story]]. A story alleging a culture of rape at the University of Virginia was written without basic fact-checking of the story told by the main victim ("Jackie"). Easily confirmable details such as dates and people were eventually shown to be false by local police and the Washington Post.

* MagazineDecay: Charged with this numerous times. In general their approach to music became steadily less countercultural in their first decade, reversing a little with their belated discovery of PunkRock. In recent years the honor of being on the cover hasn't gone to exciting new people in music so much as any celeb-of-the-moment who might sell copies.