It's that time of year when you don't blink an eye at the sight of priests and rockers battling it out at the top of the Irish music charts.

The midweek charts show that new high-profile releases from The Killers and Guns N'Roses are duking it out with The Priests for pole position.

Based on Wednesday's midweek chart, The Killers are a couple of hundred sales ahead of the holy ones, with Guns N' Roses knocked into third place.

You have to feel a little sorry for poor ol' Axl - an album 17 years in the making trumped by three mild-mannered men of the cloth.

But the charts at this time of year are about more than the battle for supremacy between Universal (Killers, G N' R) and Sony (The Priests). They also reflect the fact that this is the boom time of year for those who work at the industry's coalface.

For what's left of the beleaguered music-retailing sector, sales between now and Christmas will be crucial in deciding whether many retailers will be around in a year's time.

As things stand, the number of record shops in your local town continues to fall.

This week saw the closure in Dublin of Abbey Discs. After 25 years selling first vinyl and then CDs to DJs and music fans, Billy Murray shut up shop, unable to compete with the consumer's move to download services.

These are tough times for those who sell music on the high street due to an abundance of factors, not least supermarkets and entertainment stores being able to sell music as loss-leaders thanks to generous deals with some labels.

Poor returns from the sale of CDs mean many music stores are now making the monthly rent from sales of DVDs and games.

It may require more than just heavenly intervention from The Priests to change this state of affairs.