  Explaining the emergence of classical properties of a quantum system through
its interaction with the environment has been one of the promising ideas on how
to understand the notorious quantum-to-classical transition. A pivotal role in
this approach is played by, so called, pointer states which are quantum states
least affected by the environment and are ``carriers" of classical behavior. We
develop here a general method on how to find pointer states. Working within the
Born-Markov approximation, we combine methods of group theory and open quantum
systems to derive explicit equations describing pointer states. They contain
variances squared of certain operators, thus resembling the defining equations
of coherent states, but are in general different from the latter. This shows
that two notions of being ``the closest to the classical" -- one defined by the
uncertainty relations and the other by the interaction with the environment --
are in general different. As an example, we study arbitrary spin-$J$ systems
interacting with bosonic or spin thermal environments and find explicitly
pointer states for $J=1$.
