The problem with putting so much stock into a cigar mags list is that taste is subjective. Just because they rate cigars a certain way doesn't mean your tastes will match their's. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy looking at their ratings, too, even the Top 25, but I know that my tastes my differ from their tasters. I don't have enough money to randomly buy boxes either, but I certainly wouldn't do it based on someone elses cigar list. Anyone remember CA's 94 rating of the Onyx Mini-Belicoso from years back? I made the mistake of scooping up a bunch of those after that rating came out and really regretted it. I'm not saying it was a bad cigar, it just wasn't to my taste, even after some age on it. Luckily they were pretty cheap so it wasn't too costly a mistake. I try to buy singles or fivers of different cigars and then decide whether or not I want to invest in a box or not.
