numpy :
In [33]: np.sort(np.array([1,5,4,6,7,2,3,9]))[-3:]
Out[33]: array([6, 7, 9])
: , , , , numpy.argsort :
In [43]: a=np.array([1,5,4,6,7,2,3,9])
In [44]: idx=np.argsort(a)
In [45]: topvals=idx[-3:]
In [46]: print topvals
[3 4 7]
In [47]: print a[topvals]
[6 7 9]