Surprisingly, many advisors did not consider oil itself as their favorite energy source for new investments; rather, they focused their attention on companies involved in coal, for example, China's Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. (NYSE: YZC); natural gas drilling by companies such as Bronco Drilling Co. (NASDAQ: BRNC) or Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN); the potential of tar sands with firms such as Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB); uranium miner Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ); and Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SGR), involved in construction of both coal and nuclear facilities.

And several advisors find their favorites within the emerging alternative energy markets such as Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) in biofuels, Zoltek Companies Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) in wind power, Suntech Power Holdings Co. (NYSE: STP) in solar power, and geothermal energy plays such as Ormat Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ORA) and U.S. Geothermal Inc. (NASDAQ: UGTH).

Other companies are developing intriguing new technologies such as South Africa's Sasol Ltd. (NYSE: SSL), which is developing synthetic fuels, or Canada's EnCana Corp. (NYSE: ECA), which is using carbon dioxide injections to boost gas field recovery rates.

Importantly, not all investments are suitable for all investors. Many of the selections such as those in the alternative energy area are more speculative. Others such as Cheniere Energy Partners (AMEX: CQP), Harvest Energy Trust (NYSE: HTE), and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP) are suitable for more conservative, income-oriented investors.

In addition to individual stocks, investors seeking diversified positions might be more interested in energy-related funds such as Energy Select SPDR (AMEX: XLE), iShares S&P Global Energy Fund (NYSE: IXC), or T. Rowe Price New Era (PRNEX). One ETF selected, United States Oil Fund (AMEX: USO), allows investors and traders to play the price of oil.

Be sure to check out all the best energy ideas from these advisors in their own words:

• Liquified gains for Cheniere (CQP)
• Patterson-UTI (PTEN) for growth, Harvest (HTE) for income
• Enbridge (ENB) ships value with oil sands
• A 'New Era' for resources
• A buyback bet on Encana (ECA)
• Under the sea and up in the sky
• Oil service 'picks and shovels'
• Investing in alternative energy
• Cameco (CCJ), the 'Saudi Arabia' of uranium
• Is U.S. Geothermal (UGTH) ready for the big time?
• 'Misunderstood' value in Valero (VLO)
• Two votes for Nordic American Tanker (NAT)
• Backwardation bet on US Oil Fund (USO)
• 'Dirt cheap' bet on Bronco (BRNC)
• Global gains with Sasol (SSL)
• High yields from Kinder Morgan (KMP)
• China's coal demand boosts Yanzhou (YZC)
• The Aden sisters' energy favorites
• Drilling for value in oil services
• Bet on biofuels with Monsanto (MON)

With the recent surge in oil prices and the strong performance of energy related stocks, a pullback -- perhaps even a sharp pullback -- would not be unexpected. Readers should be aware that the newsletter advisors are not picking short-term trading ideas.

Rather, they are looking at secular trends and selecting those stocks they believe are the best opportunities for those seeking to add energy exposure to a long-term investment portfolio. As such, buying on weakness or building positions over time should always be considered.

Overall, with the diversity of ideas presented in this report, I hope that all investors will find ideas that fit their own investment strategy. Do your own research, use common sense, and only consider investments or speculations that meet your personal time horizon and risk parameters.

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com features the latest investment commentary and favorite stocks of the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.