So, my favorite bands (which I feel work as a soundtrack for most of your stories fairly well):

Nine Inch Nails – Trent Reznor has some really heavy industrial to very unique “instrumental” ambience. You can get some of his instrumental album “Ghosts” at nin.com for free, and the album “The Fragile” is probably the best cross-section of his music.

A Perfect Circle – a side project of various bands (now ended, after 2 albums and 1 cover album), that spawned some of the best music of the decade, imho. They covered Lennon’s “Imagine” in a way that brought a completely different tone to the song.

Tool – shares an amazing lead singer with APC, “progressive rock”, and some of the best drumwork you’ll run across. Album “10,000 Days” is excellent.

Smashing Pumpkins – lead Billy Corgan is a strange character who writes amazing songs. They’re hard to classify, but easy to identify. Find “The Beginning is the End is the Beginning” – coincidentally, the song from the “Watchmen” trailer.

VAST – the most acoustic on this list, Jon Crosby is very much an experimentalist. Personally, I think his earlier albums are his best: V.A.S.T. and Nude.

Deftones – the most classic “metal” band on the list, can range from screaming to really interesting trancish songs. They also have a great cover of Duran Duran’s “The Chauffer.” “The White Pony” is widely regarded their best album. (Oh, and they also cover Sade’s “No Ordinary Love”, as I see she’s mentioned in these comments.)

They all fit under an umbrella perhaps defined as “dark alternative.”

If you like strange, but awesome music, I might also suggest:

Firewater – modern rock sensibilities brought to exotic or older instruments – they do everything from sea chantyish rock to bellydancing middleasternish rock. Their myspace page features most of their music.

Also, Bear McCreary’s Battlestar soundtracks – season 2 and 3 are especially amazing, and are great for something ambient while writing.

So, there’s a list. And here’s to hoping you find something you like.

You have no excuse. And now I have the giggles :)

Ahem. I listen to a wide variety of stuff. Basically what iTunes puts in front of me on random. A quick look says a lot of Fela Kuti, Dub, and electronic satuff like Autechre, Monolake, Scorn, and Deadbeat.

Glad your writing is better than your taste in music, Drama. ;)