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10. Steve Martin/Alec Baldwin
It made sense in theory. Why not bring together the two most iconic non-Timberlake SNL hosts — one of them a two-time Oscar host, the other an Oscar nominee experiencing a career second act as a sitcom star — especially since Baldwin and Martin had just costarred together in It's Complicated? But the result was a mishmash, with Martin's lackadaisical delivery playing awkwardly alongside Baldwin's antic energy. (The 30 Rock star looked visibly nervous at times.) The ring-a-ding-ding jokes didn't help: ''And over here is the Inglourious Basterds section... and over here are the people who made the movie'' Heyoooooo!

9. James Franco/Anne Hathaway
The Academy tried the cohosting gambit again the following year, this time with relative toddlers James Franco and Anne Hathaway. An attempt to grab the semi-mythical Youth Demographic, the pairing backfired almost immediately when it became clear that the hosts were barely in the same universe. Franco was deep into his grad school-frequenting meta-moment and seemed to be not so much hosting as deconstructing the ''hostness'' of hosting. To counterbalance, Hathaway brought enough energy for five hosts. It was sort of like watching a supernova explode next to a black hole: Catastrophic, but oddly fun.

8. Whoopi Goldberg
The first woman to host the Oscars solo, the beloved EGOT winner headlined the show on four separate occasions. But the two tiers of Goldberg's particular approach to the Academy Awards was established early and repeated often: Mix inoffensively back-slapping ''rude'' humor with finger-wagging self-aggrandizement, and mix with costume changes, costume changes, costume changes! In hindsight, the best elements of Goldberg's humor — her conversational style, her willingness to say pretty much anything — never manifested themselves in her outings as host.

7. Jon Stewart
Stewart and his Daily Show team practically defined an entire decade of comedy, crafting a hybrid form of crusading cerebral cynicism and influencing a whole generation of comedy writers and politically-minded youth. So it seemed likely that Stewart could be the second coming of Johnny Carson, Oscar-wise: A beloved late-night host who could serve as the Academy de facto host for years to come. That didn't happen. There's nothing particularly wrong with Stewart's two outings as host, but there's also nothing particularly... well, particular about them. In an interview with fellow host David Letterman, Stewart would describe their problem with hosting the Oscars ceremony thus: "At some level, deep in our hearts, we think it's stupid." Stewart's problem might have been that he didn't let that sensibility shine through enough.

6. David Letterman
Letterman usually gets a bad rap for kickstarting his monologue with the non sequitur ''Oprah-Uma'' gag. But there are two important things you don't know about that gag: (a) It's actually funny the first time he says it (with the final punchline: ''Have you met Keanu?'') (b) It's just the beginning of a searing monologue that mixed lofty cinephile snark (an Anthony Quinn joke!) with lacerating inside-baseball industry humor (jabs at the founding of overpublicized mega-company DreamWorks SKG) and just plain old stupid-smart humor. Referencing the nominated film Eat Drink Man Woman, Letterman deadpanned: ''That's how Arnold Schwarzenegger asked Maria Shriver out on their first date.'' It's only gotten more timely!

5. Chris Rock
Another host who gets an unjustly bad rap, Chris Rock seemed to surprise the Academy by doing exactly what everyone expected Chris Rock to do: Scorch the earth. The comic launched with a high-energy free-association tirade that included a dig at the titles of black movies (''Barbershop: That's not a name, that's a location!'') and a blessedly non-preachy Bush joke (featuring a lengthy tangent about GAP going to war with Banana Republic). But Rock is most remembered now for taking a swipe at Jude Law, who was coming off of a proto-Chastain year that saw him perform in six films. ''He's in everything!'' Rock said. ''Even in the movies he's not in, if you look in the credits he made cupcakes or something.'' But to quote Homer Simpson: That Jude Law rant was funny because it was true. Sean Penn angrily defended Law later in the ceremony. Surely, anyone who can make Sean Penn angry is doing their job right.

4. Billy Crystal
Crystal is indisputably the defining Oscar host of the modern era. Returning this year for his ninth go-round, Crystal has set the standard: He's a little casual and a little formal, and he's gently sarcastic without being even remotely mean. He's a host that everyone of all ages from anywhere can enjoy. Which is also a kind way of saying that Crystal is the most inoffensive choice. In recent years, the revolving-door of hosts — and a few flat-out dull pairings — have made viewers nostalgic for the Crystal years. It will be interesting to see how the funnyman's ninth stint plays out. (For what it's worth, Crystal's Oscar teaser — which seems built on the notion that Robin Williams' funny accents and the presence of Megan Fox are both hilarious — is not encouraging.)

3. Hugh Jackman
If we were to spend decades chemically breeding the perfect Oscar host in a top-secret subterranean laboratory — combining the class of Johnny Carson, the throwaway charisma of Billy Crystal, the dancing ability of Fred Astaire, the charming anything-but-American accent of David Niven, and the matinee-idol good looks of Cary Grant — you still couldn't come close to building anything better than Jackman, who infused his awards with boundless energy. Jackman's parodic song-and-dance number was simply the best opening sequence in recent Oscars history. He has never returned as host and doesn't seem interested, but his Oscar gig looks in hindsight like a stealth teaser for his always-sold-out Broadway show.

2. Ellen DeGeneres
The brilliance of DeGeneres' only stint (so far) as host is that she came off like the anti-Rock — all effusive, chatty charm — while fitting in a nonstop array of of darkly sly jabs. To Peter O'Toole: ''Congratulations on your eighth nomination! You know what they say: Third time's the charm!'' On her childhood goals: ''Most people had a dream of winning an Academy Award. I had a dream of hosting. Let that be a lesson to you kids out there: Aim lower.'' DeGeneres also successfully turned the show into her own little playhouse, whether she was hitting the aisles to give a screenplay to Martin Scorsese (''It's a cross between Goodfellas and Big Momma's House!'') or vacuuming the floor underneath the front row as part of her hosting duties. She also fired off one of the great and most honest one-liners in Oscar host history: ''Let's be honest. It's not that we don't have time for long speeches. We don't have time for boring speeches.''

1. Steve Martin
Put Martin on stage by himself, and the result is pure fizzy perfection. The modern Oscar hosts are mostly split into two distinct groups: Outsiders poking fun at insiders, like Letterman, Stewart, and Rock; and insiders cheekily poking fun at themselves, like Goldberg, Jackman, and Crystal. Martin's genius was that he somehow combined those two distinctive vibes, turning his hosting gigs into a performance-art portrait of a barely self-aware narcissist. Years before he became a profuse Tweeter, Martin filled his Oscar gigs with nonstop throwaway gags: ''Julia, I miss your phone calls. But it seems like ever since you got caller ID, you're never home.'' In a world where Billy Crystal was never born (but where Brett Ratner was still a champion douche rocket) it's fair to say that Martin would probably be hosting the Oscars this Sunday

Anything Steve Martin wins. Martin/Baldwin was not that bad. Certainly not worse than Franco/Hathaway, though in hindsight, Hathaway did so much with so little and deserves credit for that.

I'm clearly in the minority but any talk show or late night host has been either terrible or passable in Ellen's case but none memorable. In the minority because I liked Whooping as host. I thought she was funny and especially biting in her last outing And I liked the costumes. That was better than any previous costume showcase and I'd prefer to see that incorporated again. As much as I'm bored with Crystal I think he's been the best host in the past 20. I like his montages and he's funny.

I think Jackman is my favorite. He shined. Martin/Baldwin were terrible.

Jon Stewart should be higher.

Martin/Baldwin in dead last is wrong. Particularly when they have Martin at no. 1. Alec Baldwin didn't bring him down, even if their combination didn't create any mad energy or surprises.

Anne Hathaway and James Franco are by far the worst. I also, honestly, wasn't such a huge fan of Hugh Jackman. His..."presence" just didn't feel right as host, and I can't remember anything he did other than a song-and-dance lampooning how few people had seen The Reader.

I enjoyed DeGeneres.

Jackman was fantastic and easily my favorite. Wish he'd host again.