2002 GTI Radio

2002 1.8 gti .. So I tried searching with the following keywords: radio and monsoon. I kept it really general hoping to find the solution to my problems but no success.

I arrived home late on Sat night(sun morning actually at around 2 am lol) and everything was fine. Went in and slept... woke up and went out to the car and went I turned the car on the radio was off. I figured in a drunken stupor I had turned it off so I tried to turn it on. It doesn't turn on. I go to the fuse panel on the drivers side and since I know nothing as far as working on the cars, I figure I would go one by one and check all the fuses to see if there is one blown. I find one, and the middle of the fuse is not blackened but its missing the metal where it connects to two sides of the fuse. So I figure this is the problem and I replace the 15 fuse with another one. I check some of the other fuses.. I don't really mess with the mini fuses because I figure the radio would use a bigger fuse.

So I shut the fuse door and try to turn the radio on again. Nothing.
If its not the fuse.. what could it be?? As soon as my warranty ended last month this car has started to have problems. I have creaking noise I hear when I have moderate suspension travel. And recently had the a/c stop working so I had to take it in and it wasn't the freon so they replaced something (I can't seem to recount right now). I am not a mechanic... but I could use some advice...

There is a 10a mini fuse on the back of the radio, but the only way to get at it is by taking the radio out.