Neil Patrick Harris tops sexy men list...and Barack Obama beats Robert Pattinson!

For the first time, an out gay man has topped AfterElton’s Hot 100 list, which allows gay and bi men to rank gentlemen in order of, well, hotness. Neil Patrick Harris unseated Jake Gyllenhaal for the title, which the Brokeback Mountain actor had held for the first two years of the list. Click here for the text-only countdown, which includes American Idol‘s Adam Lambert at No. 16 and President Barack Obama at No. 39. (First Lady Michelle Obama came in at No. 97′s on sister site AfterEllen’s Hot 100, which was topped by Portia de Rossi this year.) And go here to view the list as it was intended (with pictures!). My notes as I clicked through:

• Dollhouse‘s Tahmoh Penikett makes his countdown debut at 100. I concur. I, however, would’ve gone with a shirtless photo.

• American Idol‘s Kris Allen at No. 98. Ah. That’s all I have to say when I see Kris — Ah.

• Ashton Kutcher dropped from No. 61 to No. 95. The song in my head, and no doubt, the voters: Janet Jackson’s "What Have You Done For Me Lately." (See also: Ryan Phillippe’s drop from No. 21 to No. 91.)

• Zachary Quinto enters at No. 94. Annie Barrett’s next sexual fantasy about Spock should be very interesting.

• How has Patrick Wilson (No. 86) never been on this list before? Apparently newcomer Nathan Fillion (No. 85) wasn’t lying to me when he said men also like sex and tuxedos….

• The Mentalist‘s Simon Baker enters at No. 79? That’s it? Well, damn. Maybe I’m not a gay man on the inside after all….

• Wait, I am a gay man inside. Or at least I share a type: George Clooney (No. 73), Clive Owen (No. 72), and Gerard Butler (No. 71).

• Naturally, Mario Lopez (No. 67) is shown shirtless.

• Hello! Who is this Ben Cohen (No. 64)? A rugby player, apparently. Song in my head: Johnny Gill’s "My My My."

• I really needed to see the goofy photo of Joseph Gordon-Levitt (No. 61) after being scared by the bicep on No. 62, Nick Adams.

• Anger must not be sexy: Christian Bale dropped from No. 26 to No. 56 this year….

• Favorite photo so far has to be the shot of Noah’s Ark‘s Jensen Atwood (No. 55): The cable-knit sweater he’s wearing is only covering the left half of his torso.

• Hmmm. This must be the cheesy photo section of the list: Skins star Mitch Hewer, who jumped 24 spots year-to-year to land at No. 53, is fully nude for no reason, while Chris Meloni (No. 52) lays shirtless on what could be a polar bear rug and Taye Diggs (No. 51) sits in an innertube.

• Major movement for The Tudors‘ Henry Cavill (up 33 spots to No. 49). He did an EW office meet-and-greet recently, and let me tell you, this photo does not do him justice. He’s going to age well, like Clooney well.

• David Boreanaz at No. 47. I would’ve gone with a shirt of a darker color. I’ve done extensive research on this.

• John Krasinski at No. 43, up 43 spots from last year. Another goofy photo, but that’s how we like him.

• Barack Obama beats Twilight‘s Robert Pattinson (No. 40) by one spot. Incidentally, Kristen Stewart debuted at No. 16 on the ladies’ list.

• Wow, even a photo with a chocolate lab puppy couldn’t keep Queer as Folk‘s Robert Gant from sliding 13 spots to No. 36.

• This in-the-pool-wearing-only-jeans shot of Milo Ventimiglia (No. 31) is almost a campaign photo, no?

• This is the only list that Johnny Depp (No. 29) would ever be sandwiched between Channing Tatum (No. 30) and Paul Walker (No. 28)

• Mandals on James Marsden (No. 27)! Automatic disqualification if I were a judge.

• Paul Rudd (up 43 spots to No. 23) is officially hotter than David Beckham (No. 24)!

• What is this German soap Forbidden Love?

• The shot of Adam Lambert (No. 16) sans guyliner feels like one of those People magazine "most beautiful"-without-makeup shoots. I might not have recognized him.

• Oh my…. Remember that gold-medal-winning Australian diver Matthew Mitcham, who was also a PopWatch Olympic Stud of the Day, from Beijing? He enters the countdown with a bullet — and a steamy towel shot — at No. 15. We liked his smile; we love his serious side.

• No wonder The CW’s Supernatural has done so well in the ratings this season: Jared Padalecki jumped 31 spots to No. 12, and Jensen Ackles rose eight spots to No. 5.

• James Franco can probably credit his role in Milk with scoring him the biggest jump on this year’s countdown — 89 spots up to No. 10.

• "Disproving the old adage that gay men are fickle, the staying power of Gale Harold is becoming legendary." The former Queer as Folk star, who just recently returned to Desperate Housewives after a serious motorcycle accident, is still Top 10. He may only be No. 9, but I do believe that he’s the only man on this list with his own PopWatch category. (I told you I was a gay man inside.)

• Perhaps my colleague Tim Stack was right and X-Men Origins: Wolverine is the most homoerotic superhero movie ever. Hugh Jackman catapulted 20 spots to No. 8.

• Gyllenhaal lands at No. 4 this year. Still very respectable.

• Ooh, AfterElton thinks that if Brothers & Sisters were to give Luke MacFarlane (No. 3), who plays Kevin’s husband Scotty, more screen time next season, his dimples could come out at No. 1 next year.

• I really need to get DVDs of Doctor Who and Torchwood. This John Barrowman (again, No. 2) is like a younger, more chiseled Mark Harmon — at least in this photo.

• Last year, when Neil Patrick Harris came in at No. 5, he told AfterElton that he was "hoping the four men above me age rapidly in the next 12 months." Can’t wait to read this year’s statement. Will he go for a "top" joke?