Aw damnit...I need help...
 

I Need Help, Part A:
During my initial 5 hour work shift, I left my iPod inside my car in Florida summer heat. When I returned, it responded to no outside stimuli (plugging/unplugging headphones, switching the hold on and off, pressing the buttons, etc). At home, after it cooled off, it didn't respond to the charger and my computer didn't 'read' it when I plugged it into the USB. Thankfully I still have a warantee but I don't want to lose my collection of songs, so if anyone out there knows of a simple/any way to get it back to life and intact, please post it. It would save me a trip and my collection.
I Need Help, Part B:
In case (as I suspect) Part A proves fruitless, I will need help rebuilding my collection. Now, most of my 2.5k songs I got from my Dad's CD collection and my own smattering of CDs, but still a vast majority were sought out through suggestions. And, as I am a dumbass (see first sentence of Part A) I always opted for delteting songs from my computer after getting them iPoded.
So, for all those who want to participate in Part B, suggest some music. I'm into everything besides mainstream pop/whatever, country, and emo. Reccomend me some good indie bands, not-well-known rappers, and whatever you think I NEED to have on my iPod.

My condolences for your iPod. May it be restored, or rest in peace forever more.

Indie bands?

The Decemberists
Sufjan Stevens
Architecture in Helsinki
Dresden Dolls
Rasputina
Stars
Sleater-Kinney
Devotchka
Regina Spektor
Arcade Fire
Broken Social Scene
The Go! Team
Of Montreal
Matisyahu

If you like any of those, let me know, and I will recommend many, many more.

Decemberists and Arcade Fire both earned regular and frequent run throughs on my playlist, Sleater-Kinney I've only heard good things about, and the others are now under investigation, thank you.

Recovering your iPod? Ok. So it doesn't turn on or respond to any stimuli. Unless you want to open it up to check for yourself (which voids your warantee and screws you over) the inside of your iPod is probably melted. Have fun rebuilding your collection.

Additionally, I invite you to check out the following websites (if you don't know of them already) ;

KCRW: Morning Becomes Eclectic
KEXP

Both websites have archived live performances from A LOT of terrific Indie and other bands. Morning Becomes Eclectic has videos of most of their performances, too.

I'm taking this from a list of my own music, and giving you all the bold/underlined bands (those are the top quality ones in the list. yeah, it's long ;P):

Acid Mothers Temple (psychedelic experimental post-rock jam)
(The) Acoustic Guitars (acoustic indie flamenco-ish, tropical coolness)
Aphex Twin (ultra experimental)
Apparat Organ Quartet (indie rock/electronica)
A Silver Mt. Zion (post-rock)
Band of Bees (modern sixties-style neo psychedelic indie rock)
Belle and Sebastian (indie rock)
Bearvsshark (indie rock)
Bloc Party (indie rock)
Bright Eyes (i'm sure you know them)
British Sea Power (indie rock)
Catch 22 (third-wave ska)
Choking Victim (third-wave ska)
Crass (traditional punk--highly dischordant)
Dead Kennedys (traditional punk)
Dictaphone (experimental jazz-noise)
Dirty Three (post-rock/experimental, post-punk indie rock)
Do Make Say Think (post-rock/experimental)
Elliott Smith (lo-fi song writer-indie rock)
Go!Go!7188 (japanese rock)
Immortal Technique (underground political rap)
Iron & Wine (indie rock)
Isotope 217 (indie rock, post-rock/experimental)
Jazzanova (jazz-electronica)
June of 44 (math rock)
Kazumi Nikaidoh (japanese rock/singing/experimental)
LCD Soundsystem (indie rock/electronica)
Leftover Crack (third wave ska)
Melt Banana (noise rock)
Mindless Self Indulgence (jungle industrial pussy punk)
Minus the Bear (indie rock)
Modest Mouse (i know you've heard of them :P)
moe. (jam band/trad rock)
Mogwai (post-rock)
Muse (neo-prog indie)
Neutral Milk Hotel (indie rock/neo-psychedelia)
Nick Cave (and the Bad Seeds) (singer, alternative rock)
Nine Inch Nails (industrial rock, alt metal)
Operation Ivy (skapunk)
Pavement (indie rock)
Phish (jam band/neo-psychedlia/american trad)
Placebo (alt rock, britpop, punk revival)
Propagandhi (hardcore punk)
Q & Not U (post-punk, indie rock...this was the first band I was gonna suggest then got out my list ;))
Radiohead (obvious, neh?)
Reel Big Fish (third wave ska)
Rodan (math rock, indie/experimental rock)
Rx Bandits (third wave skapunk)
Sage Francis (underground/political rap)
Sigur Ros (post-rock/experimental, space rock)
Ska-P (spanish ska)
Snog (industrial, alt rock)
Skankin' Pickle (third wave skapunk)
Squarepusher (experimental electronica)
Sublime (reggae skapunk)
The Arcade Fire (indie rock)
The Blood Brothers (hardcore punk/metal)
The Brimstones (surf zombie punk)
The Dandy Warhols (alt/indie rock)
The Decemberists (indie rock)
The Fire Theft (indie rock)
The Forces of Evil (third wave skapunk)
The Futureheads (indie rock)
The Hives (alt/indie rock, garage punk)
The Hold Steady (indie rock)
The Jesus Lizard (alt/indie/noise rock)
The Libertines (indie/garage rock revival)
The Pixies (obvious, neh?)
The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower (experimental jazz-rock)
The Postal Service (indie rock/electronic/idm)
The Sea and Cake (indie/post-rock experimental)
The Specials (new wave, 2nd wave ska revival)
The Toasters (rocksteady, 2nd wave ska revival)
The United States of America (experimental rock/psychedelic)
The Weakerthans (indie rock/punk revival)
Thin Lips (israeli experimental post/progressive rock jazz)
Tokyo Sex Destruction (garage punk revival)
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra (third wave ska, jazz rock, rocksteady)
Velvet Underground (obvious!! but wonderful)
World-Inferno Friendship Society (indie/gypsy rock)
Ye Wiles (alternative indie, skapunk)

edit: crodevillain--ahh! great taste. i will get to downloading those bands post haste.

indie music that i reccomend:
The Faint
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Le Tigre
Hot Hot Heat

non indie reccomendations:
Moxie Fruvus (folk-ish)
Suburban Legends (excelent 3rd wave ska)
Minibosses (i shouldn't have to tell you this one)
The Pillows (nor should i have to tell you about this either)

I know you said you wern't into country, but i'm still going to reccomend Johnny Cash's American albums (III and IV especialy), his covers of non country songs are amazing.

For part A, if you grab your iPod manual (if you still have it) you'll notice that somewhere, probably in small print and under the heading "Safety instructions", it should say something along the lines of "Do not leave the player in a location near heat sources, direct sunlight, ... , car with windows closed."

So, you're boned. Luckily it's still under warranty, just don't mention that you left it in the heat. Just say "It stopped working, can I have a new one?"

Bummer about the pod.

I grab a lot of singles or other stuff I just really like from iTunes. Recently its been some of this stuff.

EDIT: Look up "Flogging Mollys" on iTunes. You won't be sorry.

The Presidents of the United States of America
D.H.T. (dance music)
Damien Rice
Fleetwood Mac (Please buy 'landslide')
The Decemberists
Veruca Salt
U2 (Greatist hits would be the way to go there)
They Might Be Giants
Andy Williams (If you're in songs like 'MacArthur Park')
Snow Patrol
Kings of Leon (Molly's Chambers & The Bucket)
Metric (REALLY good band with a hottie female singer)
Hexstatic - electronic but not dance
The Concretes
John Legend
Carbon Leaf (GREAT band)
Gorillaz