One of the topics of discussion at the bi-weekly Meat Saturday convention I attend was my Top 25 of 2007 list and how seemingly weak it was thus far.

That list returns tomorrow with what I think is the second-best rock song of the year.

Meat Saturday is what I've come to call our OU football get-togethers, an outing among three of us who talk about pop culture, politics, sports, news, etc., over beers and, well, meat. We had ribs this week. Yum. I hadn't had ribs in maybe five years, unless you count the compressed meat goodness of the McRib.

What I explained to a fellow participant was that I had already explained that this year's batch of singles was really soft. The first half of my list was filled with serviceable songs, some of which I might really like years down the line and others I'll forget tomorrow.

The focus of the discussion had in the past been on the best rock songs of the year. A conversation I had at work today underscored the role of rock music among today's teens, and all you need to know is that it centered on Hannah Montana.

Not that there is anything wrong with Miley Cyrus. It's just that when I was growing up in Muskogee, Okla., we talked about going to Ozzy and Motley Crue concerts, not going to see Disney actors. I'd submit that today's music environment for teens is significantly more family friendly, at least until the point where rap comes into play for the older teens.

Unfortunately, this development has spelled the death-knell for great rock music. Where are the AC/DCs, the Scorpions, the Judas Priests, the ZZ Tops of our era? Heck, where are The Police, Styx and Bostons of the world?

They're not in abundance because the market doesn't warrant their existence. It's not the end of the world for me musically because I'm more of a soft-rock guy, more of an R&B and jazz listener. Sure, I enjoy good hard rock, but when it's not there, I have plenty of options.

One of my favorite options is soul music, and by soul music, I don't mean R&B as a whole. I mean a subset of R&B that has its roots in the 1970s, primarily devoid of what we'd call funk. It's music that you groove to, not necessarily dance to. Perhaps one would bob their head as opposed to shake their booty.

And for music aficionadoes who love their soul, it's been a dry run the past three or four years. In the early 2000s, artists like Angie Stone and Jill Scott and Macy Gray brought it back. John Legend and Alicia Keys made it more mainstream.

But then it went away as fast as the soul revolution came. Until now.

R&B mainstays Erykah Badu (from Dallas) and Snoop Dogg (from Compton, I presume, or perhaps Oakland ... who knows, maybe it's SacTown, the Bay Area and back down?) have individually released a pair of singles that represent the best soul offerings in years.

Erykah hit the big time with her MTV video smash, "Tyrone," and while her work had always been more along the lines of what The Roots would do, she's released a tune called "Honey" that is an early contender for the best of 2008. It's a classic mix of great chord progressions with a contemporary groove and a brilliant vocal that evokes 1970s-era work with a 2007 sensibility.

Then there's Snoop. Typically, rap and soul are pretty intertwined, if you asked me. But that's not the opinion of many, and I won't argue it most of the time. However, on "Sensual Seduction," Snoop sings.

There's no rap.

Sure, it's heavily produced, but any soul music fan who enjoyed Roger in the 1970s and 1980s knows how cool the voice synthesizer can sound. My primary but only criticism of this tune is that I'm not sure Snoop comes off terribly believable in his role as 1970s-era crooner.

However, it's a solid, soulful step forward, a niche I hope he continues to carve.

As for the rest of my Top 25 of 2007, what I would say is this. The latter half of the list is filled with terrific, terrific compositions. This year has been one of the best in many for well written pop songs, tunes that will stand the test of time.

However, until we get to about No. 15 or below, know that we're just talking about pretty good tunes that caught my ear. Not masterpieces.