I personally LOVE my 50D....the more I use it, the more I give my heart to it
Seriously, I was between a T1i and a 7D, but I ended up with the 50D. The 7D was a bit too expensive for my taste, and I wanted a built in flash (even though I NEVER use it). The T1i had nice video, but no auto focus made that worthless. And coming from an old 10D, after feeling the rebel, I instantly knew I would never be happy with one.
My advice is the same as above. Go to a store and hold both camera's. If you feel the rebel and are happy with it, AWESOME. Spend that extra money on some good glass. But you may find the xxD line to be a bit more to the right feel.
Advantages the 7D has that I wish my camera had:
Wireless remote
Weather proofing (although the 50D still has awesome construction)
Slightly better CMOS
Personally those were not worth the extra $$, but they still would have been nice.
hope that helps, feel free to ask any questions on the specifications