Not that it needed any help, but it appears that the sun is getting a big surge of power. Well actually, it's solar stocks that are getting a jump start. With support from an article by Peter Lynch for www.Investorideas.com , I'm staying on the solar band wagon.

Many of our readers know that I've been up on this solar game for a while now, especially those oil heavy fund managers who have been laughing at me from Wall Street. I hear that laughter and I'm reminded of the billions of dollars lost in natural gas options this past year. Yes, it's a tough world in the energy game and I believe that for those who refuse to get in step, it's going to get tougher still.

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is a favorite conservative investment idea for 2007 from John Reese, editor of Validea, a newsletter that screens stocks based on the strategies of well-known investors such as Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch.

The advisor notes, "I am especially confident in my picks when multiple strategies identify a particular stock as desirable. This is the case with Johnson & Johnson. The stock gets a 100% match based on the Cornerstone Value Strategy developed by James O'Shaughnessy, a 93% score based on the Warren Buffett approach, and a 91% score based on the Peter Lynch method.

"O'Shaughnessy looks for large, solid companies. Cash flow per share must be higher than the market's average cash flow per share, which is currently $2.08. JNJ's is a healthy $4.55.

"JNJ meets Buffett's requirement that earnings have increased every year for the past ten years, and it also has little debt (it could extinguish debt with earnings in less than two years). JNJ also has a return on equity that has consistently been above 22% for the last ten years. It also has strong cash flow of $1.81 per share.

"Finally, JNJ might be appealing to former Fidelity Magellan manager Peter Lynch. Based on its past growth rate and sales levels, Lynch would classify JNJ as a stalwart -- a stock that can produce strong capital appreciation and hold up well in an economic downturn. Its yield-adjusted PEG ratio is 0.93, which this strategy would find acceptable, and its debt-to-equity ratio is around 6%, which is very low and another positive."

Quantitative analyst and editor of OTC Insight, Jim Collins sees opportunity in Steve Madden (NASDAQ: SHOO), a shoe designer whose products are distributed through department and specialty stores, its 95 retail shops and its e-commerce site.

Fundamentally, Collins is attracted to a recent new product launch known as the "Design your Own" collection, which lets buyers choose between the size of the heels and the patterns, materials, finishings and colors to customize their own shoes. Collins points out that there are a total of 4,221 possible combinations.

Technically, Collins looks to the stock's very high relative strength ranking of 98 out of 100 as well as its solid score of 'B' for accumulation-distribution. He does caution that the company is exposed to fashion risk, which he notes can be difficult to predict. Despite these risks, he has selected the issue as his latest featured investment.

Validea has an unusual approach to stock selection; editor John Reese assesses companies based on the strategies employed by "legendary investors." In the case of his latest buy, Finish Line (NASDAQ: FINL), the stock was chosen based on the value methodology used by Benjamin Graham (Warren Buffett's mentor) and Peter Lynch.