I have a list like this:

<select name=select_list_name id=list_id>

    <option value=>Select Option</option>

    <option value=value1>Option 1</option>

    <option value=value2>Option 2</option>

    ...

    ...

</select>

I am trying to get the text value of the currently selected option in a select list. I looked at this thread: jQuery get specific option tag text
and tried this:

$(#list_id option:selected).text()

But this only gets me the first options text (Select Option) regardless of which option has been selected.

I tried another way:

$([name=select_list_name] option:selected).text()

That gets me the first option's text concatenated with the selected options's text (Select OptionOption 2 if I select Option 2).

Any idea on why?