Seagate Technology (STX), a producer of hard drives, was the leading star, earning special distinction as Company of the Year. Seagate, writes Forbes’ Erika Brown, “is the biggest and most efficient stand-alone hard-drive maker in the world.”

The 21 other NYSE-listed companies recognized as America’s Best Managed Companies were Rockwell Collins (COL), M&T Bank (MTB), Moody’s (MCO), Danahar (DHR), Airgas (ARG), ITT Industries (ITT), Lennar (LEN), Brunswick Corp. (BC), Lehman Brothers (LEH), Genentech (DNA), Pilgrim’s Pride ( PPC), Sysco (SYY), St. Jude Medical (STJ), Boyd Gaming (BYD), Oxford Industries (OXM), Commercial Metals Co. (CMC), E. W. Scripps (SSP), Apache Corp. (APA), Lowe’s Cos. (LOW), Sprint Nextel (S), and WPS Resources (WPS).

Forbes selected the corporate stars from The Forbes Platinum 400, an annual list of America’s best big companies in 26 industry groups. The companies were ranked for their financial performance — sales and earnings growth, stock market returns, and debt to total capital, among other metrics — over the latest five-year and 12-month periods. The editors and writers then evaluated the leading companies in each industry on factors such as innovation, efficiency and market leadership to arrive at the 26 best-managed companies.