I kind of do the opposite from sdebrango. I put olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs on it and then put it into a 450 oven for the first 15 to 20 minutes. Then turn it down and baste periodically until done. I've also heard good things about putting the chicken uncovered in the fridge for a few hours before cooking so that the skin gets nice and dry, but I'm usually too disorganized to do this.
Dry, dry, dry, in that oven - no herbs necessary, no citrus, nothing. Just the bird, salt, and pepper. Lack of crispness results when the bird steams because moist ingredients are present and give up their moisture while cooking.
Dry brine with copious amounts of coarse salt, then place on a rack over a pan, and let air-dry, UNCOVERED, in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Make sure the bird is well-dried before you salt it, and really rub the salt in well all over the skin. You can shove some sprigs of herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage) under the skin over the breast and thighs if you want. And a little ground black pepper would help too. No trussing, just tuck the wings under. NO oil or butter. Then place on an oiled rack over a roasting pan, breast side up. Toss some potato chunks into the pan, and drizzle with olive oil. Do not oil or butter the bird. Put into an oven you've preheated to 500°F for at least an hour, and turn the temp down to 475°. Roast breast side up for 25 minutes, flip and return the bird to the oven. Reduce the heat to 450° and roast breast down for 15 minutes. Flip the bird again, breast up, and stir the potatoes to make sure they're not sticking or burning. You want them absorbing the dripping chicken fat. Roast another 10 or so minutes to re-crisp the breast skin and get the chicken to 165° internally. Pull and rest for 10 or so minutes, loosely covered. You could make a pan sauce from the drippings, and from the juice that will exude while the bird is resting.
All the other answers are correct, except I wouldn't make a habit of continuing to cook chicken after it's done. Important step is to pat dry before putting it in the oven. You can add butter under the skin, if you don't mind adding the extra fat. I like to use a compound garlic herb butter. Loosen the skin all around and evenly place the pads of butter around the bird. The water content in the butter will lift the skin when it evaporates off helping the skin render out it's own fat, and the butter will baste and season the meat. Cook at 375-400 degrees uncovered. Pull out at about 140 and loosely cover with foil to allow for about 15 degrees carry-over cooking. Don't carve until temp drops back down to 140 range. Brining the bird before hand would be nice. And, if your brine has any sugar in it, that would aid in browning.
I coat with oil and put on a sprinkle of "Wondra Flour" Just a bit, not a 'fried chicken' like coating.
It helps hold down the oil and adds a bit of crunch to the skin.
It's not normal flour but a pregelatinized flour mixed with a bit of barley with a slight grain to to the texture, so it's great for making crispy crusts.
It's sold on blue tube/canisters with a shaker top which makes it very easy to dust on, and if you don't have it or know it; you should. It's magic.
I use Thomas Keller's recipe and it never fails. I suspect it's the amount of salt. We eat this chicken almost every other week and certainly every month. And honestly after reading a Jacques Pepin recipe for roast chicken I rarely even truss the bird anymore. Seriously, it's as easy as throwing the bird in the oven and waiting. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/My-Favorite-Simple-Roast-Chicken-231348
I made a roast chicken yesterday with nice crisp skin. I baked covered at 350 until the chicken was done, then cranked up the heat to 450, brushed with soft butter and let it brown. Took about 15 minutes and the chicken was tender and juicy with crisp skin. I am sure there are lots of different methods but this worked great for me.
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It helps hold down the oil and adds a bit of crunch to the skin.
It's not normal flour but a pregelatinized flour mixed with a bit of barley with a slight grain to to the texture, so it's great for making crispy crusts.
It's sold on blue tube/canisters with a shaker top which makes it very easy to dust on, and if you don't have it or know it; you should. It's magic.