Here are two US lists of "the best of" 2007 for magazines and books. Granted, Mr. Magazines list is solely of new launches but its good to see collections like these just to keep in touch with what is out there. I've done a few nano seconds of googling for UK examples but to no avail. If you find any, let me know in the comments.

Mr. Magazines' site also has an interesting article for those that want to set up their own publication. Not exactly about design as such, but its a good concise article that shows some of the thought process involved in getting a mag off the ground.

The thumbnail image at the start is of "Small Crimes In An Age of Abundance" designed by David Drummond. I really like the theft of the "l".