I struggled with this article last year, struggled to come up with anything that represented the blank space that was 2006. Nothing had happened of any consequence in the Omaha music scene, and I was left wondering if anything would ever happen again.

This year it was much easier. The Year in Music 2007 will be remembered for three "big things" that shaped the end of one era and the beginning of the next, which may or may not be as good as the one that preceded it.

First the bad news. Last year the music industry's ever-winding downward spiral began to touch the lives of musicians in our fair city. We all know that more and more consumers are acquiring music -- legally or otherwise -- via the Internet. And whether that local music store chain wants to admit it or not, the practice of downloading will eventually consume us all.

In what was either a raising of a white flag or a savvy marketing move, Radiohead offered its latest album, In Rainbows, as a free download, though anyone with a conscience could throw a few coppers into the hat as they passed through their website. Few did. Nine Inch Nails followed suit a few weeks later. And suddenly the notion of a future where musicians merely give away their music was very real. Consequently, a chill began to run through local musicians and anyone else who makes a living from music who used to think downloading was something only megastars and major labels worried about. Now they had to wonder how they were going to make a living when no one was buying.

Saddle Creek Records appeared to have caught the scent long before the rest of us. For years label execs Robb Nansel and Jason Kulbel pooh-poohed the evils of downloading, saying they were too small to be impacted. But they must have known in the backs of their minds that their future wouldn't be tied to a label, but to a project called Slowdown.

We got it in March when Marc Leibowitz and Jim Johnson -- the duo behind One Percent Productions -- opened The Waiting Room in a building that once housed Marnie's Place, D Dubs and the legendary Lifticket Lounge, smack dab in the heart of Benson. For Johnson and Leibowitz, The Waiting Room was a dream come true, the culmination of years spent hustling indie rock shows in other people's venues, always knowing in the back of their minds that they could do it better if only they could run the venues themselves. Boasting the city's second-best sound system and its own legendary history (Nirvana once played there), The Waiting Room quickly became Omaha's primary venue for live music -- indie or otherwise, and effectively drained Sokol Underground of the One Percent shows that were its life blood. Seriously, when was the last time you went down to Sokol?

Three months later, Saddle Creek trumped One Percent's hand by opening Slowdown, the multi-million dollar music hall/bar located in the horribly nicknamed "No Do" district of North Downtown. With a capacity of 615 and a state-of-the-art sound and lighting system, Slowdown became a coveted stage for both local and national indie rock bands. The only drawback: It's sparking clean interior might be too nice for this slacker crowd. But that didn't stop them from going there to see some of the year's hottest shows (all, incidentally, booked by One Percent), including Built to Spill, Stars, Dinosaur Jr. and local heroes Cursive, Bright Eyes and The Good Life, as well the bands that comprise the third "big thing" of 2007 -- the emergence of Nebraska's Next Wave.

While we were sitting around trying to figure who would take the place of Saddle Creek's Big Three, they were busy playing shows at PS Collective, O'Leaver's and the home of Omaha's house show scene, Hotel Frank. This so-called Next Wave of Nebraska bands includes Capgun Coup, Baby Walrus, Bear Country, Coyote Bones, Flowers Forever, The Family Radio, Hyannis, Talkin' Mountain, Dim Light and Spring Gun. Like the Saddle Creek bands who were influenced by Golden Age acts like Mousetrap, Frontier Trust, Ritual Device and Mercy Rule, these bands were influenced by Bright Eyes, Cursive and The Faint. The circle, it seems, remains unbroken.

And like the bands before them, will this Next Wave make its mark nationally? Only time and their willingness to tour will tell. Saddle Creek bands also got their start at house shows (and The Cog Factory), but they knew that their future required a lot of time spent inside a van touring the country. The same holds true for this Next Wave. If they're content to only play at Hotel Frank, TWR and Slowdown, Nebraska's spot on the indie music map will quickly fade.

Which brings us to the annual year-end "best of" list. Remember, I'm not saying these are the year's best, I'm saying they're my favorites. For your convenience, in alpha order: