Among this year's Top 25 are not many artists of whom I would consider myself a true fan. There are a couple, and Greenville, Texas, native Ben Kweller is one of them.

The red-headed singer-songwriter got started early, winning honorable mention in a Billboard songwriting contest at age 9, a contest I should note that I am pretty sure I entered with a tune called, "Heaven's Just A Heartbeat Away For You."

Yes, I realize how creepy my supposed love-song title was. However, I was merely 20 at the time, and I've since learned to study great lyrics and lyricists. Fortunately for music lovers, Kweller is just a born prodigy, a talented musician and excellent songwriter in the stylings of other great musical Bens such as Ben Folds and Ben Harper, as well as guys like Elliott Smith.

I wouldn't say that Kweller's work is as deep as, let's say, Ryan Adams' efforts. Adams has a lot of that alt-country, Neil Young, Dylan vibe about him. Ben Kweller's work is fun, more along the lines of the great 1970s singer-songwriters.

Then again, some of his early solo work remind me quite a bit of Weezer. Take for example, his one and only big radio hit, "Wasted and Ready."

His 2007 song called "Penny On A Train Track," which is my No. 18 song of 2007, is just as fun but at the same time more mature musically. It's as if each record Kweller puts out makes me even more curious as to what he'll come up with next.

On the other hand, this song isn't nearly as awesome as the video, which features his grandmother, Bubbie. She's in her 80s, and she danced away while the song played, and I'm pretty sure Ben shot the video with a home camera. Frankly, this should have been a huge, viral YouTube hit, but nobody really saw too much of the video nor heard too much of the song.

It's a shame, not that Ben's career is suffering ... just that he's infinitely more talented than he's given credit for in the industry and among record buyers.

For your viewing pleasure, I give you two versions of my No. 18 song of the year: "Penny On A Train Track," by Ben Kweller.

See others:

No. 25 - Everyday America - Sugarland

No. 24 - Le Disko - Shiny Toy Guns

No. 23 - Famous In A Small Town - Miranda Lambert

No. 22 - Colorful - Rocco DeLuca & The Burden

No. 21 - Never Again - Kelly Clarkson

No. 20 - Streetcorner Symphony - Rob Thomas

No. 19 - Two - Ryan Adams