The Rolling Stone Archive

Unearth the Evolution of Popular Culture, Music, and Controversial Narratives from 1967 to Today

The backfile of Rolling Stone covers the magazine from its launch in 1967 to the present. One of the most influential consumer magazines of the 20th and 21st centuries, it initially sought to reflect the cultural, social and political outlook of a generation of students and young adults. It soon became a leading vehicle for rock and popular music journalism, shaping and chronicling new trends and movements.

Also notable for its commitment to reporting on controversial topics that were largely absent from mainstream media, Rolling Stone was closely identified with a multifaceted 1960s-70s counterculture. Major journalists and authors have contributed including Hunter S. Thompson, Patti Smith and Tom Wolfe.

From the 1980s, coverage expanded to encompass more entertainment topics, such as film and television, making it a leading resource for contemporary reporting and reviews pertaining to wider popular culture. This period also saw the successful serialization of Wolfe’s The Bonfire of the Vanities and the publication of one of the first national magazine features about the mystery of AIDS. The archive supports research in 20th and 21st century history, politics, music, cultural studies, media studies, sociology and more.

*Our policy is to include each issue from the first and to scan from cover to cover. Due to the rarity of some of the original print volumes, however, there may be some small gaps (issues or pages).