Apple has been topping "best of" lists for some time, and now itis coming out on top of yet another with its first place ranking in a Brandchannel.com survey. The Mac, iPod and iPhone ranked higher than other companies in almost every positive category in the survey comprised of marketing professionals.

The Cupertino company ranked highest on questions like "What brand can you not live without," "What brand is most likely to revolutionize the branding industry in the next five years," and "What brand, if sent back 100 years, would have the biggest impact on the course of history."

Apple also came out on top with questions like "What brand would you most like to sit next to at a dinner party," "Which brand inspires you the most," "What brand can you not live without," and "If you were to describe yourself as being a brand, what brand would you be."

One survey respondent commented "[Apple is] one of the few brands that are managed so well -- its approach to design, its ease of use, its selective communications strategy and innovation -- that every touch point and product accurately represents what it should represent. It creates desire and mystery."

Apple didnit, however, take top honors in every topic. The question "What brand do you think is truly (going) igreeni?" "No company" took first place, Toyota came a distant second, and was followed by bp, The Body Shop, and Honda.

Microsoft took the top honors in the category "If you could rebrand any brand, what brand would it be." It was followed by the United States, Ford, Coca Cola, and Pepsi.