The music business is hurting, but you wouldn't know it from the avalanche of activity between now and Christmas.

Despite the boffo business done this summer by Coldplay and Lil Wayne, the industry's conventional wisdom still holds that the run-up to the holiday season is the best time for major-label singers and rappers to sell CDs (or digital albums).

Along with the high-profile releases (described below) from Beyonce and Taylor Swift, there'll be plenty more, from rapper T.I. (Paper Trail, Sept. 30), Jennifer Hudson (self-titled, Sept. 30), John Legend (Evolver, Sept. 30), Bob Dylan (the outtakes collection Tell Tale Signs, Oct. 7), and Fall Out Boy (Folie a Deux, Nov. 4).

Just because the heavy hitters are out in force doesn't mean the indie kids are taking it easy. Albums are coming from two of the more accomplished bands in alt-rock, Austin's Okkervil River (The Stage Names, this week) and Of Montreal (Skeletal Lamping, Oct. 7).

The list goes on . . .

Jenny Lewis

Jenny Lewis wasn't at her acid-tongued best on Rilo Kiley's 2007 Under the Blacklight, an overly slick album in which the indie-rock band labored to turn itself into a new-millennium Fleetwood Mac.

The top-shelf singer-songwriter was in top form, however, on her 2006 solo album, Rabbit Fur Coat, and now she's going solo again with Acid Tongue, with contributions from Elvis Costello, Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes, Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. The title song can be heard by dialing 1-888-717-2243. (Release date: Sept. 23)

TV on the Radio

The New York quintet injects a little infectious bop-bop-bop into its art-rock attack on its thrilling third album, Dear Science. The outfit led by Tunde Adebimpe may be too oblique to capture a mass audience, but its broken beats, sweet synths, punchy horns and noisy guitars cohere into an enthralling whole. (Sept. 23)

T-Pain

The Florida producer and "rappa ternt sanga" born Faheem Najm has become the most influential man in contemporary R&B -- by teaching the world to sing like robots.

The T-Pain trick is to use studio Auto-Tune technology to lend that au courant mechanized sound to such heavy-hitting buddies as Lil Wayne and Kanye West. Along with Chris Brown, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes and Bow Wow, they will appear on Thr33 Ringz, the circus-themed third T-Pain album, due on his 24th birthday. (Sept. 30)

Lucinda Williams

For Lucinda Williams fans weary of the indulgences of the gifted Southern country-blues soulstress -- too many slow songs, too much whining -- Little Honey is just the right medicine. It not only arrives ahead of schedule; it's also remarkably upbeat, loose, and raucous.

It includes "Jailhouse Tears," a wonderful old-school country duet with Elvis Costello, and a surprise cover of AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock N' Roll)." (Oct. 14)

Taylor Swift

Since her self-titled debut album in 2006, long-legged songsmith Taylor Swift has been the commercial salvation of country music, selling more than three million albums. She's served up a taste of what's next with the pop-rockin' single "Change" -- hmm, seems like I've heard that word somewhere -- which will be included on her new album, Fearless. (Nov. 18)

Pink

Alecia Moore seems determined not to let the breakup of her marriage to motocross racer Corey Hart get her down. Her new album is called Funhouse, and over a typically Pink-ish pounding rhythm, its feisty first single "So What" proclaims, "I guess I just lost my husband, I don't know where he went/So I'm gonna drink my money, I'm not gonna pay his rent." (Oct. 28).

Beyonce

Virtuoso Intellect? She's beautiful, rich, and married to Jay-Z. Now the rumored title to Beyonce Knowles' new album seems designed to make sure we know that Ms. Bootylicious is super-talented and really smart to boot.

Please, B. -- show, don't tell. The third solo album from the former Destiny's Child leader is said to include collaborations with songwriter-producers Kanye West, the Dream, the Freemasons, and South Jersey's own Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. (Nov. 18)

Rachael Yamagata

It's been four years since singer-songwriter-pianist Rachael Yamagata debuted with Happenstance. Since then, the dusky-voiced singer has been befriended by Bright Eyes and moved to Philadelphia. Her new CD, Elephants ... Teeth Sinking Into Heart, is subtitled "A Record in 2 Parts," and its stately production was largely handled by Bright Eyes multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis. (Oct. 7)

Mr. Lif

It's try-anything time in the shape-shifting music industry. And the politically minded alt-rapper Mr. Lif will try this: Starting this week, he will begin loosing music from his new topical album, I Heard It Today. He'll put out the first two songs, with two more arriving at three-week intervals leading up to Election Day, Nov. 4. I Heard It Today will come out in full-length form on Inauguration Day. (Jan. 19)

Guns N' Roses

Axl Rose is the Ralph Ellison, the J.D. Salinger, the Harper Lee of hard rock. GNR once defined metal-edged swagger, but it's been a decade and a half since the band -- with Slash and Izzy Stradlin long gone -- has released an album. Several songs from Chinese Democracy were leaked this summer, and one, "Shackler's Revenge," is on the video game "Rock Band 2," raising hopes that this is indeed the year Democracy (due by Christmas, maybe) spreads across the globe.