I'm a newbie quilter, too. I subscribed to American Patchwork and Quilting magazine and to Quilter's World because the school was selling magazine subscriptions. They have beautiful pictures in them both. American Patchwork was 128 pages in December and 45 were full page ads. That is not even counting the partial page ads. I didn't count in Quilter's World but I don't think it is much different and it only had 98 pages. Most of the things advertised are way too pricey for me and I probably wouldn't know how to use them anyway. I spend much more time on this board and other internet sites looking for inspiration and guidance than I do with the magazines and think this board has helped me 100 times more than the magazines.
If you don't mind the subscription price for what you get in the magazine, it is nice to have something you can lay on the couch with and flip through the pretty pictures.