Which linux non shared web hosting with shell account access are you using and would recommend?
One of the requirements is that it is based on Linux, has access to (root?) shell account so I can install my own version of apache or tomcat or whatever to serve my web application.
I am very happy with http://www.dreamhost.com. They do a good job to taking care of developers.
One of the requirements is that it is based on Linux, has access to (root?) shell account so I can install my own version of apache or tomcat or whatever to serve my web application.
It sounds like you're looking for a Virtual Private Server
I bought a 1U box off of ebay and stuck it in a local colocation facility. You get a lot more RAM (I put 2Gb in mine) and a lot more hard disk (I put 1Tb in mine) compared to the usual VPS or managed hosting solutions. Even better, I run Xen with three domU (user domains) and rent two of them out to cover most of the difference between the colocation costs and what I was paying for a VPS at linode.com.
ramhost.com is a cheap choice. For temporary testing, you may check Amazon EC2 or rackspace or Vps.net.