Anyone moved on from the 17-55 f2.8 Nikkor to another normal lens.

I have a D7000 as my main camera. I've had a Nikkor 17-55 f2.8 for years now, which I've found to be quite good. However, it is a boat anchor of a lens for casual use, travel and storage. Anyone found any good compromises in normal zooms that can replace this? I've read that Bob Krist used Nikon D90s with the 16-85mm zoom? With the VR and the high ISO capability of the D7000, it might be doable- how much image quality do you give up with the 16-85?

Thans