Top Stocks Ride A Brand-New Trend

- October 2001: With the U.S. in a recession, Apple launched the iPod music player in 2001. Naysayers said people wouldn't pay for music when they could steal it through illegal downloads.

The best new factors are at times tied to broad shifts in industry conditions. These changes can take time to emerge however when they do, the potential is great for investors. The Bakken Shale oil field in the 1950s - which sat untapped until fracking drilling techniques emerged - is one example. So is cloud computing today.