This post is part of a 12-article feature that can be read here: Today's best income ideas.

"Master limited partnerships have been among the market's most stable and reliable groups; but 2008 was a painful exception, with the benchmark index down nearly 37%, the worst performance in its 13-year history," says Elliott Gue.

In Personal Finance he now sees a "great opportunity" for investors to takes positions in this high-yielding sector. Here's a trio of favorite investment plays in the MLP arena.

"Energy Transfer Equity (NYSE: ETE), a major player in the midstream energy sector, is a cash-producing machine," says value investor Nathan Slaughter.

The editor of Half-Priced Stocks explains, "Even more promising, those who know the company best -- the CEO and one of its co-funders -- have been voting with their wallets lately." here's his review of the income holding.

"The company -- a master limited partnership (MLP) -- owns over 17,000 miles of natural gas pipelines in several states, including the largest network serving the prolific gas basins of Texas.

MLPs come in two classes: general partner and limited partner. The general partner (GP) typically handles all of the day-to-day operations and in return gets a cut of the distributions that are dished out to the limited partners (LP).

"In this case, the General Partner is Energy Transfer Equity, our recommendation, which should not be confused with the Liimted Partner -- Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE: ETP).

"Energy Transfer Equity owns all the General Partner interests -- as well as 62.5 million LP units (46%) of ETP. All of which is a convoluted way of saying that ETE unitholders can expect to be showered with cash.

This post is part of a series in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked financial experts to name their top stock pick if McCain or if Obama wins the election.

"Given Obama's statements regarding raising qualified dividend and long-term capital gains, tax-deferred dividend income, like that provided by master limited partnerships (MLPs) such as Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP), should look very attractive," Carla Pasternak, editor of High Yield Investing.

"Under Obama, the current Bush tax cuts would appear to have little likelihood of being extended, suggesting that dividends will again be taxable as ordinary income, at a tax rate of up to 35%. Capital gains will also be taxable at the top rate of 20%.

"However, the corporate structure of master limited partnerships generate cash flow that's considered a return of capital. Instead of being taxed as a regular dividend, returns of capital instead reduce your cost basis -- meaning you won't have a tax liability until you sell the security.

"Typically, MLPs pay out around 75-90% of their distribution as tax-deferred return of capital. The balance is treated as taxable income, even in an IRA type of account. For that reason, MLPs are suited for a taxable brokerage account.

"Almost any tax-advantaged MLP could protect your portfolio from the higher tax rates. I've zeroed in on Kinder Morgan because of its superior dividend yield of around 7.5% and strong dividend growth history fueled by growing cash flow.

"Kinder Morgan is one of the largest owners and operators of energy-related pipelines and storage facilities in the U.S.

"We're continuing to emphasize conventional energy, solar, shipping, agriculture, and commodities," says Harry Domash, who adds, "But one industry we've overlooked so far is coal."

In his Winning Investing, he explains, "This month, we're adding two coal industry picks. One, a short-term play to capture the action in hot coal mining stocks, and the other, a long-term dividend-paying investment."

"We've avoided coal primarily because environmentally speaking, coal is bad news. Coal is mostly used to generate electricity and to power steel plants. Crude oil prices are so high because supply can barely meet demand.

"Think about what would happen to oil prices if coal wasn't available. Due to increasing global demand, coal prices are moving up dramatically and it doesn't make sense for us to ignore that.

"For longer-term investors, we recommend Natural Resource Partners (NYSE: NRP), a master limited parternship. The MLP owns coal properties in the Appalachia, Illinois Basin, and the Western U.S. NRP leases its properties to mine operators.

Through a combination of capital gains and dividend yield, the goal of The 25% Cash Machine is to generate 25% annual returns from a combination. Editor Bryan Perry is now building a new position for this portfolio: Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE: CQP), a play on liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The advisor explains, "LNG is natural gas -- the same clean, safe energy source used to fuel our homes and industries -- that's been reduced to 1/600th its volume through a sophisticated refrigeration process. In liquid form, natural gas can be shipped long distances safely and economically in specially designed ships with insulated storage tanks.

"World demand for liquefied natural gas is expected to double by 2010. The reason demand for LNG is growing is that it is viewed as safe, flexible, reliable, and economical. One other big (perhaps the biggest) plus in the current (and growing) green climate is that LNG is environmentally acceptable.

"Contrary to popular belief, CO2 isn't simply a useless pollutant; in fact, the gas is used to produce oil via a technique known as a CO2 flood," says Neil George and co-editor Elliott Gue in Personal Finance.

To invest in the trend toward increased usage of CO2 floods, the advisors look to the leader in storage and transportation of this gas, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP), a master limited partnership (MLP).

The advisors explains that CO2 gas is already used to produce more than 200,000 barrels of oil per day in the US alone, employing the CO2 flood. This involves pumping CO2 under pressure into oilfields to squeeze additional production out of older, depleted fields.

Says George and Gue, "With oil prices above $60, there are plenty of opportunities for producers to further expand the use of CO2 floods." They add, "That's great news for companies that handle the transportation and storage of CO2 for enhanced oil production." Topping that list, the suggest, is Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, the largest transporter and marketer of CO2 in the US.

Each year, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Stocks Report.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD), a master limited partnership (MLP), is the top conservative pick for 2007 from energy expert Elliott Gue, editor of The Energy Strategist.

"MLPs trade on the major exchanges just like any stock. But there are some big tax benefits to owning MLPs, offering a combination of high current income and the potential for that income to grow rapidly over time.

"Enterprise Products is the largest MLP in the U.S. Unlike most other big MLPs, Enterprise hasn't slowed its distribution growth substantially in recent years. In fact, the MLP has maintained an impressive 9%+ annualized growth rate in distributions during the past five years. .