Hey, finally something I know!! :lol: Just kidding. I actually do the recipe portion on the AX home forum and the perfect turkey roasting method of mine is from Alton Brown on Food Network.
Brining it (as in the Rachel Raye post above) is a good method to get extra moisture into the turkey. However, it is the LONG cooking time that kills it. If you are using that little red bellybutton thingy as a timer, you're cooking it to sand. That thing pops way too far past the "done" phase. Instead of doing that, go out before next week and pick up a $10 digital probe thermometer. NOT one with the little dial on it, not a candy thermometer, but one that you use for meats. They're uber-handy, especially for oven birds, roasts, and if you are a smoker (not ciggs, I'm talkin ribs, brisket, etc. with smoke).
You can brine if you want, but I've had great success going without it. Rinse the bird and remove whatever guts you want. DO NOT STUFF IT!! This harbors bacteria and the stuffing absorbs the turkey juices, not only (perhaps) drying it, but keeping the temperature difference enough that either the stuffing will be done or the bird will be done - NOT BOTH. Take some aluminum foil and make yourself a nice breast plate - a triangle big enough to cover the breast of the bird (white meat) while letting the legs/wings uncovered. Form it to the naked bird and set aside for later. Sprinkle the outside with kosher salt and pepper. Insert the probe into the thickest part of the breast, making sure NOT to hit bone or the cavity. (This will give you a false reading.) Poke it once!!
Set your oven for 500. That's full-blast furnace. Put the turkey in the oven for 30 minutes. Leave the damn door closed!!! After the timer goes off (set the timer, doofus), lower the temp to 350. Pull the turkey out quickly and install that nice breast plate. (Don't worry about raw touching the quasi-cooked skin) Put it back into the oven. Set the probe temperature to go off at 165 degrees. And as Alton says, "Walk away. Just walk away. Don't touch it. Just let it go."
During this time, do whatever you want. When that timer goes BEEEEEEEP, pull it out and let it sit. Again, just walk away. Do NOT pull the probe out, poke it, or cut it!!! Just walk away. If you are me, you'll be busy keeping your Great Dane from reaching it on top the stove. If not, then go play games or set the table. 165 is not fully cooked for a bird! But, as it rests, the temperature will coast up a few more degrees. When it hits about 172, it's going to be done. This may take a bit, but that carryover heat is important to make sure it is fully cooked but still retains the juicy goodness.
Wait about 5 minutes after it reaches 172, then pull the probe, remove the foil armor, and have at it.
Basting: I never understood this. The skin protects the meat underneath. So why would pouring ANYTHING over the top of it do anything for the meat inside? It doesn't. Don't worry about it. If you do it the way I described, you won't need to. And the other big thing is that every time you open that oven door, you let the heat out!!! That increases cooking time!!! And that's just not good.
Oh, one other bonus... This method should cook a whopping 20lb bird in about 4.5-5 hours flat. That's about HALF the time that you'd do it the traditional way.
So do it. DO IT!! Get you some juicy bird!! And let me know how it goes next Friday, if you're not too bloated to type!!
HAPPY EATING, EVERYONE!!!
Don't forget to baste your turkey with olive oil or butter too. 
