Grey screen on Macbook Pro boot up

I've got a Macbook Pro 15" laptop (mid-2011) running Mac OS X Lion. It recently broke down and I can't get past the grey screen on bootup. It gets to the Apple logo and the circle loading animation then straight to grey screen.
I've tried Safe Mode, zapped the PRAM, plugged everything out of it including the power cable, even tried to boot the recovery HD using the Option key. When I clicked Recovery HD, it went straight back to the grey screen. Nothing seems to work.
I bought the computer the same week Lion came out so it had Snow Leopard on it and came with the Snow Leopard installation disc. I downloaded Lion from the App store for free. What would happen if I booted the computer from the Snow Leopard install disc? Would I lose anything that was previously on my computer like software I downloaded for Lion (Pages, Numbers, Keynote etc.)? Would I be able to get these back if I reinstall Lion after the boot and where would I get Lion from as I don't have the installation disc. Could I access my Apple account history on the App store and reinstall Lion from there somehow as I've seen Lion is no longer available on the App store?
HELP!!

What would happen if I booted the computer from the Snow Leopard install disc? Would I lose anything that was previously on my computer like software I downloaded for Lion (Pages, Numbers, Keynote etc.)?
Booting the computer from the Snow Leopard install disc alone won't do anything.  Only if you were to attempt an installation from that disc might you run into trouble.  Kind of like trying to put a propeller on a jet airplane.  It just can't be done without removing the entire engine!  
The 10.6 installer disc won't get you to the App Store.    For that you need to boot with command-R.
If your data isn't backed up, you seriously need to consider some data recovery options before attempting even a command-R.   Once your data is backed up, contact the App Store support to get the Lion or Mountain Lion installer program to show up on your App Store, depending on where your software compatibility lies.
In the future, it is always wise to keep a clone of your system in event something should go wrong.  That way you don't need the store to have the correct installer for your system.

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