If that is what you want to do you should be playing an archer/ranged thrower and getting a bard cohort and optimize the bard cohort for bonus damage granted to the party while you optimize your main character for number of attacks given as well as damage per attack. With the right splat books you can get the bard to do two songs, the first song boosting your weapon damage with an elemental effect (best effect is sonic damage), the second song the normal inspire courage. See below

For the main character get the the "splitting" effect for your bow (champions of valor) it iss a +3 weapon enhancement for your bow. Your arrows split in two when fired doubling the amount of arrows you fire. The cohort you have adds 9d6 sonic damage and +7 attack and damage to each arrow at cohort level 9.

Throw on swift hunter (feat that combines ranger and scout for skirmish damage) and you can be doing another 5d6 to 7d6 per arrow shot. Swift Hunter see here
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19872750/The_Swift_Hunters_Handbook_--_2007

If done correctly you can easily be firing almost 20d6 damage per arrow at level 12 or so. With about 6 arrows fired per round.

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Dragonfire Inspiration (feat located in dragon magic),granting a new bardic music effect, instead of traditional inspire courage you add elemental damage to your party's weapons effects (normally fire but if you have the draconic heritage feat which requires 1 sorc level you can pick any of the five elemental types). Damage is 1d6* what the attack bonus would have been for a normal inspire courage.
Well after doing Dragonfire Inspiration in round 1, your cohort follows with a normal inspire courage. In addtion here are some more ways to increase inspire courage.

Feat
Song of the Heart feat. +1 to Inspire Courage
Words of Creation feat (good, but exalted good, effectively pure good to the point of annoyance). Double bardic music bonuses.

Spell
Inspirational Boost (Spell Compendium, pg. 124), swift action: +1 to inspire courage. Can be used during the start of bardic music for longer lasting effect.

Equipment
Vest of Legends (DMG II, pg. 272). Bonus to Diplomacy and Perform. Treated as a bard of 5 levels higher for bardic music bonuses.
Badge of Valor (MIC, pg. 208 ), Immediate Action. Bonus on Charm or Fear saves. Or +1 to inspire courage. Either 3/day.
Harmonizing Weapon (MIC). Bonus on Perform checks and the weapon maintains the bardic music (for up to 10 rounds), allowing you to cast spells or activate items.

If you have both inspirational boost and a badge of valor, activate them in this order inspirational boost->inspire courage->badge of valor. This uses your swift/immediate actions for the first 2 rounds of the inspire courage, but gives you the full benefit for the duration of the song.

Thus at level 9 for your cohort, your cohort is doing +3 base inspire courage. Words of Creation doubles this to +6. Song of the heart does +7, Inspirational Boost +8, Badge of Valor +9. Thus you are doing +9d6 elemental damage. During the second round your cohort does another song this time inspire courage granting you +7 to Attack and Damage (since you don't get inspirational boost and badge of valor.)

Bard Inspire Courage here
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19869994/Bard_Inspire_Courage_Optimization

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Now I know this style of play is not what you are used to after playing 2nd edition. But the style of the wizard is now different. Direct damage is now done by the fighter, rogue, cleric, druid classes. Also ranged damage is not as good as it used to be.

Now assume you have 5 party members.
1) Tank/Fighter type
2) Ranger/Scout Swift Hunter (Face character)
3) Wizard
4) Cleric
5) Bard (Face character)

The Wizard job is to "coral" the enemies and have the Fighter and the Ranger/Scout take them out 1 at a time. Wizards are now awesome at battlefield control, buffing, and debuffing (and they make decent Saves or Dies). If the Ranger/Scout can do 20d6 damage per arrow, and fire six arrows per round he can take out pretty much any enemy but he may have problems with mobs (he can kill a balor in about 4 to 5 hits, about 12-14 for a tarrasque). Same thing for the fighter.

The cleric is there for healing, another spellcaster buffing/summoning, or if built correctly a cleric can also tank as well as a fighter.

The bard is there to buff the other three characters and to be another face character

And if you need more direct damage the wizard and cleric are also very capable summoners in there own right. Need to face an army besides summoning they can also use planar binding, planar ally, and gate. And as long as the creatures you are summoning are smart enough they also get the awesome bard music effects.

Sorry if these responses are too geeky