Thanks for the prompt answer. I figured through hours of googling that I will have trouble getting the things set-up the way I want them. It may even be impossible.
The main issue is that I have no TV in the home. The only video output I have is a video projector, which is only used for DVD/DiVX playback. I can't switch on the projector to play mp3s... Most multimedia hard drive I've seen need true video output. The ones that have a LCDs are small two lines display. I have found a model with a small bitmap display, but it is some asian product, and, frankfully, I have had too many bad experiences with that kind of stuff.
The ideal setup would have been a HTPC enclosure with some linux software, running the user interface on the touchscreen, so I could play music/internet radio/rip stuff or copy digital camera images without powering on the video projector. The nerd in me would have also installed other services on the linux box, which would have been some always on home-server.
Maybe a macMini + iPod touch as a remote would fit the bill. I could run linuxMCE on the Mac and use a browser on the touch to control the music... Won't be very sexy, but it could work...