Got to work today and out of the blue my Spotlight is completely hosed in Snow Leopard; it can't find anything except dictionary entries.
Attempting to add Macintosh HD (or any other folder) to the Spotlight Privacy list results in "Privacy List Error, The item couldn't be added or removed because of an unknown error"
mdimport /
produces no change in behavior.
sudo mdimport /
mdimport will not import on behalf of root user. Exiting.
Verify permissions completes with no defects reported.
Any ideas? Wait for Snow Leopard to mature with a few point releases?