After a several months long absence the SMA list is back , and as has become rather common by now, we have a new man at the top. Not that he hasn’t been up there before: Jesse McCartney finally gets revenge on Hunter Parrish for the latter’s July upset, pushing Parrish to third, just below Emile Hirsch. Other notable positives include old faitful Leonardo DiCaprio’s eleven spots climb to become Climber Of The Month and a fixture in the Top Twenty, followed by Taylor Hanson and Ed Westwick, who both gained ten spots (#34 and #35, respectively). At the opposite end, it has been a disastrous few months for Jeremy Sumpter, who has seen his seemingly safe and promising #25 spot replaced by a full twenty spot slide, to #45. Both Logan Lerman’s and Max Theriot’s declines (thirteen and eleven spots, respectively) would have been considered lackluster any other month, but compared to Sumpter’s collapse they come off as relatively modest. We bid farewell to Michael Angarano, Josh Peck, Kostja Ullmann and Jody Latham, while we welcome newcomers Cody Lindley (#36), Charles Carver (#42) and Michael Pitt (#47) as newcomers, and give Skins star Joe Dempsie (#45) a heart-felt welcome back.

As always, the changes on this list is generally caused by any particular guy being considered by me to be relatively more attractive than he was considered previously. That, however, of course doesn’t necessarily mean that any of the other people on this list have become markedly less attractive, only that they perhaps have not been as good at getting my attention lately. With that said, let’s break it down:

#1-10: Jesse McCartney’s reclaiming pole position has been in the making for months now, due to another set of Summerland reruns, and now it finally panned out. The top six here is so incredibly close that it’s bound to change almost on a monthly basis, and this month that was to October frontrunner Zac Efron’s disadvantage. Mitch Hewer experienced a nice boost from my finally catching the second season of Skins, and Alex Pettyfer has gotten out of his downward slide, to take #9. We welcome former soap star, current b-movie actor Chris Egan to the top tier. Look for him in a future installment of the Early Gay Crushes series.

#11-20: It’s still fairly steady in the upper half, although we could note in the positive that both Charlie Hunnam and Cristiano Ronaldo seem to have stabilized, after a less promising few months. Jesse Eisenberg rockets up eight spots, as always courtesy of my endless rewatching of The Squid and the Whale. As was the case with Lerman and Theriot in a less positive sense, Eisenberg is still overshadowed by Leonardo DiCaprio’s even more rapid rise. The reason of course is Revolutionary Road, or rather a mix of promo pictures and my own impossibly high expectations. It could of course be one-month spike, but given what I’ve written before about the status that Leo holds on this list, it’s still remarkable. Elsewhere, Kevin Zegers (#17) makes his best showing yet, while Ryan Donowho (#18) duplicates his personal best. Gaspard Ulliel deserves an honorable mention for defend his strong #11 debut, even outperforming former Top Ten Ryan Sheckler.

#21-30: Like the rise of Ed Speleers and Adam Brody (which seems to have reached its peak, at least for now), it looks like Zac Hanson and Jonathan Taylor Thomas feed off each other’s momentum. Formerly a Top Forty contender, the youngest Hanson could now very be a candidate for the second tier, and Thomas’ steady upward climb make nothing seem impossible for him either. This is a trend that has been visible ever since they made up the first two installments in the EGC back in August/September. Coming back from a several months long injury, Liverpool striker Fernando Torres again is a force to be reckoned with, taking seven spots in reintroducing himself to the Top Thirty. Jamie Bell on the other hand, is on a slide for no apparent reason. In fact, dropping to 25th when I rewatched Hallam Foe just recently, must be labeled as underperforming. Also, Aaron Carter is no longing surging, eking out a #30 showing.

#31-40: Having already mentioned Taylor Hanson (possibly benefiting from his close association with brother Zac) and Ed Westwick (who showed off his adorableness in the equally adorable Son of Rambow), let’s instead give a round of applause to Cody Lindley, the Hannah Montana co-star. There’s always room for another Jesse McCartney-style prettyboy, though his show is pretty much impossible to watch. We’ll just have to hope he fares better than Josh Peck, who fell right off the list this month, after his October debut. Fellow October newcomer Joe Jonas is still looking up however, climbing three spots to #39. Ryan Phillipe’s trend is still positive too, while Chace Crawford’s and Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ respective declines only confirm that it actually is possible to be too pretty for your own good. I’m just not in the mood for them right now, but I’ll bet they’ll bounce back. Raphael Nadal, Randy Harrison and Gareth Bale represent continuity, but again I’m a little surprised that Nadal’s increased Australian Open exposure has not resulted in him climbing.

#41-50: Generally, the Forties is a place for either respectable first-showings or complete collapses. This month is no exception. By luck and hunky-ness Desperate Housewives (a show I’ve never watched) star Charles Carver makes it #42, while Michael Pitt was able to ride his Young Leonardo status all the way onto the Sexiest Males Alive list. Unfortunately for his future prospect, he has a certain tendency to make himself look not good for many of his roles, but as long as my memory of The Dreamers is alive and well, he has a decent shot at sticking around. The collapse category is represented by the aforementioned Theriot and Sumpter, but Thomas Dekker’s eight spot slide is not exactly encouraging either. In a month where German stalwart Kostja Ullmann (of the coming-of-age story Summer Storm) finally had to give in, it’s at least heartening to see that Brady Corbett is still with us. So is Joe Dempsie of course, though perhaps ironically, his recurrence was propelled by my watching his character’s last days on Skins.

1. Jesse McCartney (3)
2. Emile Hirsch (4)
3. Hunter Parrish (2)
4. Zac Efron (1)
5. Mitch Hewer (9)
6. Nicholas Hoult (5)
7. Ricky Ullman (6)
8. David Gallagher (7)
9. Alex Pettyfer (16)
10. Chris Egan (12)
11. Gaspard Ulliel (11)
12. Ryan Sheckler (8)
13. Charlie Hunnam (13)
14. Cristiano Ronaldo (14)
15. Tyler Hoechlin (15)
16. Jesse Eisenberg (24)
17. Kevin Zegers (19)
18. Ryan Donowho (22)
19. Leonardo DiCaprio (30)
20. Ed Speleers (17)
21. Sean Faris (18)
22. Adam Brody (21)
23. Logan Lerman (10)
24. Zac Hanson (29)
25. Jamie Bell (20)
26. Chris Lowell (27)
27. Mitch Firth (23)
28. Jonathan Taylor Thomas (37)
29. Fernando Torres (36)
30. Aaron Carter (28)
31. Raphael Nadal (31)
32. Chace Crawford (26)
33. Randy Harrison (34)
34. Taylor Hanson (44)
35. Ed Westwick (45)
36. Cody Linley (new)
37. Ryan Phillippe (41)
38. Gareth Bale (38)
39. Joe Jonas (42)
40. Jonathan Rhys Meyers (32)
41. Chad Michael Murray (40)
42. Charles Carver (new)
43. Thomas Dekker (35)
44. Max Theriot (33)
45. Jeremy Sumpter (25)
46. Brady Corbett (46)
47. Michael Pitt (new)
48. Rhys Wakefield (50)
49. Joe Dempsie (RE)
50. Daniel Agger (49)