Growth stocks are the beauties of the stock world, plain and simple. They're exciting, they have good stories, and they can make you a lot of money.

But for all their beauty, growth stocks are also the prima donnas of the market. They can be erratic, they don't always live up to their billing, and they tend to attract a shareholder base that's ready and willing to run at the first signs of slowdown. For those reasons, caution is certainly in order when you enter the world of growth investing.

Fortunately, the Motley Fool's CAPS service brings us the collective intelligence of a community of more than 130,000 investors and is a great resource for separating the Han Solos from the Jabba the Hutts. Each of the five stocks competing for this week's top spot has a market cap of at least $100 million and grew its net profit per share by an average of 20% or more per year over the past three years (you can run the screen for yourself). So let's go ahead and meet our contestants.

Biogen Idec
As we might expect from a player in the biotechnology sector, Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:BIIB) has notched impressive growth by developing and selling drugs. More specifically, the company works with other drug companies such as Elan and Genentech to develop drugs for specialty markets that the company feels are underserved. Biogen's biggest haymaker is Avonex, a treatment for multiple sclerosis, but its Tysabri, a newer treatment for MS, has grown by leaps and bounds over the past couple of years and notched nearly $600 million in sales for 2008.

Copart
If a relatively obscure business model is what you're looking for, Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) might be right up your alley. The company is a vehicle re-marketer, meaning that it helps auto insurance companies -- among other sellers -- find buyers for totaled cars. The company has used a combined approach of developing new locations and acquiring existing facilities to fuel its growth. And grow it has -- earnings per share more than doubled between fiscal 2004 and 2008.

Baidu
If I wanted to keep this short and sweet, I could simply say that Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) is China's Google (NASDAQ:GOOG). The company is China's leading search engine; its main domain, www.baidu.com, is ranked the No. 1 most trafficked site in China and is No. 10 in the world. Like Google, the company brings home the bacon by selling advertising space tied to keywords. And by being the frontrunner in one of the fastest growing economies, it has managed to boost its revenue tenfold since 2005.

Aeropostale
The teen retail world may be a tough place to live these days, but Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO) has been making the most of it. While competitors like Abercrombie & Fitch are quaking under the pressure of the economy, Aeropostale has shown itself to be significantly more stable. For the near future we probably won't see earnings grow at the rapid rate of the past few years, but for now this retailer appears to at least have the ship moving in the right direction.

Suntech Power Holdings
You want growth? Suntech Power (NYSE:STP) has got it. In 2004 the burgeoning company logged just $85 million in total revenue, but managed to expand that to $1.9 billion for last year. The sun isn't shining for solar energy companies today the way it was a year ago, but the need for a long-term source of clean power hasn't disappeared. Suntech had a bit of a head start on many companies in this up-and-coming industry, but faces stiff competition from First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) and others.

The envelope please ...
The voting is in and CAPS community members have shared their opinions. Right off the bat, Aeropostale and its two-star rating is getting the heave-ho. Interestingly, many CAPS members have given the stock a thumbs-down precisely because the company has held up so well in the recession. Their logic seems to be that the gravity-defying performance can't go on forever and sales will eventually take a dive.

Baidu and Biogen Idec -- each sporting a mediocre three stars -- are next to go. While there are quite a few fans of Baidu on CAPS, there do seem to be some concerns about the company's conduct as well as its rich valuation.

Solar hopeful Suntech Power put up a good fight -- it has more than 4,200 outperform ratings on CAPS and many CAPS members see it as a best of breed among the Chinese solar manufacturers. However, its four-star rating wasn't quite enough to overcome this week's champ, Copart.

Copart is a solid five-star stock on CAPS and has raked in 1,501 outperform ratings versus just 37 underperforms. For the call on this remarkable auto remarketer, here's CAPS All-Star poinkie, who gave the stock a thumbs-up back in October of last year:

My daily commute takes me directly past the newest [Copart] location. As I wait at the stoplight, I get to count the cars. What began as 1 car parked out front has become a steady flow of vehicles of all sorts moving through the lots. I see more employees and the steady flow of increased new products. We can't finance new, let's fix up our used. Strong business model for the current economy.

Now go vote!
Do you think that Copart has what it takes to be America's next top growth stock? Head over to CAPS and let the rest of the community know what you think.

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