#18 - The Bernaola Twins

Carol and Darlene Bernaola were the surprise twin "millennium Playmates," who ushered in the 2000's with sparkle and wonder. The late 90's into the early 2000's were a memorable time for Playboy fans everywhere. Carol and Darlene ushered in a class of 2000 littered with famous names like Suzanne Stokes, Nicole Lenz, Brande Roderick, Brooke Berry, Shannon Stewart, Neferteri Shepherd, Nichole Van Croft, and Buffy Tyler... all in the same year! It was definitely the start of a new golden age for Playboy, and the start of it all was nothing short of amazing.

Playboy offered to kick off the millennium with twins. The Peruvian beauties rivaled anything Playboy had done before with a twin-girl monthly ticket. Carol and Darlene are sensual and fantastic. What really makes twins great, though, is awesome chemistry. A great sense of interactivity between the two girls can make a world of difference, especially when you see that the girls are having fun and taking their posing to another level by helping each other. And that's definitely what makes the Bernaola twins perhaps the greatest duo in Playboy's history. They work together so well, and can even be comfortably sexual with each other, giving the pictorials a kinky, otherworldly feel that is just plain naughty. Not to mention that these girls have bodies that are nearly perfect, and two of them just makes it gratuitously outrageous.

You start off with the pictorial knowing what the motif is for these twin models... sparkle, pomp, and glitter. These ladies are in-your-face from the get-go, starting with clear mesh tops strewn on their bronzed bodies. Carol and Darlene intertwine their bodies throughout the pictorial, giving a sense of closeness and sexuality that you just can't have with a single girl. As the girls begin to get wild, dancing and partying, their pictorial becomes grandiose and becomes a major production. But it's not there where these girls really get their kicks. When they calm down and turn down the lights, like in Pic 10, they really start to shimmer. The twins are sexy and sultry all the time, with their nothing outfits showing their substantial features. Talk about identical twins! These ladies are buff and lean, and both are identically flawless. Pic 11 shows off their brilliant chemistry in a delectably close shot, where the sisters share some quality time, touching and feeling. And their South American heritage mitigates any sense that their intimacy is awkward. It simply can't happen when you have such exotic girls being so comfortable with each other. This photo is a fantastic rear shot, showing off the girls' Latina behinds with just a bit of vagina showing through their mesh dresses. It's outrageously sexy, and the fact that there are two of them makes it all the more fantastical. Another curvy side shot is Pic 21, a great symmetrical montage of these superb figures. Their ability to balance out any shot and work together prevent them from ever having a bad one. The playfulness is what sets them apart, always smiling and having a good time, and having the advantage all the while of being able to expose the front of one and the back of the other, giving almost a 360-degree view of one beautiful model. The interactivity and closeness of the twins is seen in photos like this one, where the nude undertone is fantastically juxtaposed with sisterly love. It gets even closer here, and it almost makes you want to drop your jaw and marvel at their compatibility, and embrace their in-your-face sexuality as well.

After all of that, go take a look at one of the finest centerfolds Playboy has ever made. Again, we have the all-around view of these ladies, as we see a perfect embrace and a picturesque pair of women that took the bar and raised it more than just a few notches.

Carol and Darlene were nothing short of amazing in their photos. They were a pair of bubbly sweethearts from Peru who took interactive sexuality to a whole new level. On top of all that, their personalities showed in their photos almost as well as their bodies dazzled their audiences. There's no question why they share the #18 spot as some of the greatest Playmates of all-time, as their impact in the Playmate world can still be felt today, from lesbian pictorials to any girl-on-girl affair.

#19 - Raquel Gibson

Raquel Gibson was Miss November 2005, a girl who stuck out among a great group of girls in the early millennium, in the great turn-around of the post-Playmate "golden era" of the late 90's. Raquel was a Filipino-Italian wonder with a unique Floridian look and a penchant for incredible posing. As our first Playmate of the countdown in the new millennium, Raquel was a shining star when she came out. Her knockout body is beyond words, and is something only an interesting mix of ethnic qualities can provide. She makes it on the list by breaking in with an exceptional look.

Raquel stormed in to the class of 2005 against contenders like Destiny Davis, Jamie Westenhiser, and PMOY Kara Monaco. But it's Raquel who should have been Playmate of the Year in this tightly-contested race. Her bodily proportions are extraordinary (34C-24- and an amazing 35" hips!), and her sexuality and out-of-this-world look made our jaws drop. So what was it about this angel that makes her one of the best ever?

It's easy to see if you start from behind. Those 35" hips show in this photo, and many thereafter, as Raquel's butt is beyond words. But it's very true, Raquel was just dead sexy. In pic 11, a magazine spread shows off her admirable height (5' 4") and the thick thighs and vouptuousness that comes with it. Just take a look at Raquel's face, body, and total package. Her eyes intimate an Asian flair, and her tanned body is creamy and as smooth as butter. Let's just say that she's absolutely stacked. Her curves are phenomenal. This shot is an interestingly artistic shot which is unusual in a Playmate portfolio, but is pleasantly sexy, as it shows off the perfect flow from the small of Raquel's back into her amazing buttocks. The artistry continues in pic 18, where an overhead shot shows the profile of Miss Gibson's great breasts. Raquel's pictorial is very appropriately themed, as her wet, exotic nature meshes well with her unusual appearance. Once you finish browsing her tantalizing pictorial, check out her centerfold. It's simple, hot, and the look on Raquel's face, as well as those pouty lips, is priceless.

And if you still can't get enough of Raquel, I'd recommend her preview pictorial. It has a bust shot that's beyond compare, a profile shot that's one of Raquel's very best, and pictures like this one, that make it obvious why Raquel is one of the most amazing Playmates in history. Be sure to see it, because it puts a clean, plain setting for Raquel to play around with, and she does a fantastic job.

It's very tough to argue why Raquel shouldn't be even higher on this list, but trust me there're plenty more girls to see! But it's true that Raquel is one of the best Playmates we've seen in years. She's a more recent girl, but she was so surprising that she belongs in the annals of Playboy history. And since she's been ranked higher than girls like Westcott, Sorenson, and Bonner, we're already giving Raquel the respect that's due. She's cracked the top 20 for a reason, and that's because she's simply perfect.

#20 - Julie McCullough

Julie McCullough was Miss February 1986, in an era where she turned the Playboy world upside-down. The late 80's marked a total shift in thinking from the Playmate style that permeated the 80's... big hair, tight clothes, sweat, and makeup. But it took girls like Julie to change things to a more modernized, natural feel, taking away the element of the "processed" girl and putting in a new type of lady. Before Julie, the 80's were in full swing, but she marked a change, after which names like Lynn Austin, Ava Fabian, Sandy Greenberg, and the oh-so-unique Kata Karkkainen took over and made the art of being a Playmate into a refined practice.

But it was Julie who started it all. One of the most important Playmates of all-time, she was graceful and gorgeous, smooth and delectable all at once. Her long body and Hawaiian-born charm made for an incredible Playmate. With a petite 115 lb. frame and 36-24-35 proportions, Julie was a blonde bombshell with plenty of spunk to light up a pictorial, and boy did she ever. It's tough to explain Julie's immeasurable appeal without looking at her photos. Her face is unlike any other. She doesn't resemble the typical blond cookie-cutter Playmate of Playboy lore. She's something unique, and was a treasure in the annals of Playboy. So let's take a look.

Julie's pictorial begins with photos like Pic 02, which is a candid look at a sense of sexuality that didn't yet emerge until the late 80's. But Julie's real essence isn't felt until midway through the pictorial, where she gets into her "map" photos. This photo is a playful McCullough classic, where her crotch is easily visible, and a careless mood in a lacy little nothing is carried very well by such a beautiful girl. The blowing of her hair in the wind and the outdoor atmosphere adds to it, as well. Julie can look like a mean, lean starlet when she wants to, like in Pic 18. This photo is an edgier side of Julie, and she can mix it up with a sexy, girl next door look with those exotic eyes. The thing that made Julie awesome was her wistfulness, and ability to convey emotion through her photos. She was satisfied and confident at all times. But one pictorial theme clearly sticks out: the at-home lingerie posing. This photo kicks it off, and immediately you can see why Julie was one of the best. She oozed sex in these pictures, as she turned her shirt, exposed her firm breasts, and posed with amazing posture. Julie's fitness and proportions show off in this photo. Julie finally surrenders, laying in a feminine, alluring pose.

What Julie brought to the 80's was passion and heart. She took posing as a Playmate to a whole new level, and that's why she's my #20 greatest Playmate of all-time. A true legend in her own right, this Hawaiian-born natural beauty leaped into the hearts of readers and fans all around. She's also the only the start, as we're only a fifth of the way through our countdown. Can more classics be on the way? Or will we see Playmates of the golden era of the late 1990's dominate?