Here are a couple of lists I found when looking for ideas for my yard:

http://www.crescentbloom.com/plants/Lists/Shady%20garden%20areas/index.htm
http://www.backyardgardener.com/shade/index2.html

The problem could be that they are under the overhang of the house, and get insufficient water.

I agree with giboosi. They are planted too close to the house in any case. You want to plant your shrubs out closer to your stone border. The windows are pretty low - they don't even really look like the bottom edges are 5' off the ground. Are you OK with shrubs hiding the lower edges?

You might consider weigela, leptodermis oblongata, dwarf varieties of oakleaf hydrangea ('Sikes Dwarf') or peegee ('Little Lamb'). 'Annabelle" would probably fit under there - mine topped out at about 4 feet tall - but it isn't a neat, trim plant. I'd use mixed shrubs instead of trying for a hedge.

Lots of spireas would stay short enough and most are really colorful - you'd have to be careful to choose varieties that doesn't clash with your blue siding. Weigela might have this problem, too. Maybe stick with something that has normal green (or green and white) leaves and white flowers - like the hydrangeas. Corbus alba 'Ivory Halo' and variegated eleutherococcus probably get too big. Hmmmm...

Thank you so much for the replies, I will take a look at all the information here.

Shrubs should be planted at least 4 feet from the foundation of a house. If you acidfy the soil adequately, you might try Kalmias. Short varieties are available. Other broad leaf evergreens might work too, but you must keep the soil acid (lime will continue to leach from the foundation.) Also, rhodies and azaleas will be happier if the part sun is morning sun and not hot afternoon sun.

keria will survive in dry shade once it's established.
has yellow flowers

first of all, what is it that you planted there the first time? i can't quite make out the shrubs in your picture, but looks like you had, on the left a pieris, and then the rest look like some small pine or spruce. none of the conifers are tolerant of shade which is probably why they look gangly. and the pieris japonica is definitely part-sun not full shade and it tends to have dieback a lot after tranplanting in my personal experience.

my suggestion is to plant three shrubs of the same type in a row to provide structure for the front, followed by a feature shrub at the end of the bed where you have the most sun.

evergreen suggestions for your zone, there are so many, but i'll comment on ones i had experience with:

boxwoods - hybrids like green gem are best, i have them lining my full-to part-shade front bed and they do well
sweetbox - my neighbor has them, evergreen with fragrant white blooms, nice form
leucothoe - mounding shape, there are some with variegated leaves, easily prunable, inexpensive, a more informal look, if you use these, maybe two would do
english or schipka laurels - love the nice looking ones in my neighborhood altho i've never had success w/ them, tend to have winter burn, inexpensive

for the feature plant, i would consider something which interesting foliage or flowers:

spirea, especially gold mound - i love its chartreuse foliage, compact shape, it has pink blooms and can tolerate part shade, but i'm just trying it in my garden for 1st time this year so will see if it keeps its color.

small japanese maple, eg. crimson queen or waterfall - an expensive choice, nor sure you would have room for this, but it has a cascading effect, and is perfectly happy in part or even dappled shade (less leafy)

i am a huge fan of kerria. bright yellow rose-like flowers, there is one in my neighorhood blooming in dappled shade for years. i just got one for myself. however, the shape is a little rowdy for a front bed imho. arching multistemmed habit, like bamboo or forsythia, and it's a spreader.