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We report a study of the frequency response of AT and BT cut Quartz Crystal Microbalances (QCMs) to laser illumination. AT and BT cut QCMs have a similar response to mass adsorption but the opposite frequency response to stress levels, allowing the individual contributions to stress and mass desorption induced by the laser light to be quantitatively investigated. A detailed analysis of the transient thermal behaviors in the quartz crystals has also been performed, which yields stress levels that are consistent with the observed results. Our results quantitatively confirm previous suggestions that radial compressive stress is a dominant contributor to the response of the QCM to laser illumination. They also establish a theoretical framework for the analysis of the transient phenomenon to infer temperature shifts and radial stress levels in the system irrespective of whether both AT and BT cut crystals are utilized.