Ah, Brad Pitt. If ever there were a swoon-worthy celebrity, it would have to be him. Those eyes, that hair, that jaw line, those pecs . . .

Pitt's perfect mug and beautiful bod come to the big screen again today, courtesy of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. He plays Lt. Aldo Raine, the leader of a band of rogue soldiers who go about killing Nazis during World War II. Given all the violence, not to mention that weird little mustache, it isn't a sexy role exactly. But that won't keep true Pitt fans from drooling all over their popcorn.

As for the rest of us, well, we have our own thoughts about the hottest celebrities in Hollywood. And some of us were brave enough to share them. Here are a few of the crushes Monitor staffers and freelancers have indulged in over the years.

Bad boys

I got over my "bad guy" phase by crushing on Johnny Rzeznik from the Goo Goo Dolls and Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray. Totally not my type at all, but evidently there was something I found attractive about them. I don't remember what. These days, Colin Firth is the only celebrity who catches my eyes, or maybe my ears, more accurately - you have to love the British accent, not to mention the romantic lines from Jane Austen novels. He made an excellent Mr. Darcy. (Props to you, too, Matthew Macfadyen.)

Katie MacKenzie

In sync

During my preteen years, I LOVED both Justin Timberlake and J.C. Chasez from Nsync. Actually, obsessed would be a more accurate word. My whole room was wallpapered with pictures of the two of them, and when I ran out of wall space I began pasting pictures of them onto shoe boxes and notebooks. I don't know why I did this, but for some reason I felt compelled to do so.

I loved both men equally, but I didn't want to admit that to myself at the time. For some reason, I felt the need to choose one over the other and constantly suffered from the type of inner turmoil that comes with loving two men simultaneously. I loved Justin for his curly hair and sweet dance moves. I loved J.C. for being the "shy one" in the group.

Nowadays Justin and J.C. don't do anything for me. Justin's songs kind of annoy me and I don't know what happened to J.C. However, I still know all the words to "Tearin' Up My Heart" and probably have a poster somewhere in my mother's attic that reads, "God Must have Spent a Little More Time on Justin."

Cassie Pappathan

Fan mail

My first celebrity crush was on John Schneider, a.k.a. Bo Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard. My friend Jennifer and I wrote a fan letter to him in 1979 (we were 11) and couldn't even believe it when we received an autographed black-and-white publicity photo. We disagreed vehemently over whether he'd sent it himself.

Now, it's a three-way tie between Adrien Brody, Axl Rose and Willie Nelson. Pressed to choose, I'd go with Axl. When are you too old for celebrity crushes?

Annmarie Timmins

Then and now

Then: Chris Evert. I began watching tennis because of Evert, I began playing tennis because of Evert, and I still watch women's tennis because of Evert.

Now: Laura Linney. A first-rate actor whose identity and self esteem are based on her intellect and skill, not on her looks. How refreshing is that? Of course, it doesn't hurt that she's absolutely hot.

Ray Duckler

Kissing lessons

I totally learned how to kiss with lots of practice on my John Travolta circa Saturday Night Fever poster, and then my Johnny Depp 21 Jump Street poster, and then I two-timed him with my Christian Slater life-size cardboard cutout. Short story, I'm a real good kisser.

Melanie Plenda

Watchable

Years ago, when she was in her thin, Stone Poneys days, I loved to imagine that Linda Ronstadt was at the foot of my bed singing only to me. That was about the same era when I also wanted to swap shots with Janis Joplin. To call them crushes would be a misnomer, but I would watch any tennis match Maria Sharapova played in, any volleyball game with Gabrielle Reece on the court and any movie with Charlize Theron in the cast. Okay, that's it. I'm in enough trouble as is. (next page »)