If Aretha Franklin weren't so idiosyncratic — she doesn't like to leave her home in Detroit, she's afraid of flying and can't perform with air conditioning — she'd probably be a concert attraction on par with Tina Turner or Paul McCartney. Instead, the Queen of Soul does such memorable one-off performances as President Obama's Inauguration in Washington, D.C.

For a recluse, though, she continues to put out surprisingly strong albums (check out 2003's "So Damn Happy") and carry herself with dignity, befitting the woman responsible for "Think," "Respect" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman."

Here are eight reasons she still rules.

1. The hat. In addition to everything else, it may just rescue the economy. In St. Paul, Minn., a struggling strip-mall store called Just Churchin' It Fashions sold more than 24 $130 replicas of Franklin's custom-made hat in the two weeks after Obama's inauguration.

2. She's still a perfectionist. You may have noticed her inauguration rendition of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" was a bit ... raspy. Aretha noticed, too. The track available on iTunes is actually a rerecorded "preferred version" made in a cozy studio.

3. Appearances fit into her schedule. In 2007, Billboard asked Franklin whether she'd appear on "American Idol," which would expose her to an audience of about 40 million viewers. "We've talked a number of times," she responded. "Unfortunately, the show is on hiatus at the time I'm usually coming out to the coast."

4. She has personal restrictions fit for a diva. Franklin has a crippling fear of flying, forcing her to drive to high-profile shows in Las Vegas and Los Angeles in 2004. She is also unwilling to put up with air conditioning, which means she and her fellow musicians get really, really hot onstage.

5. Mary J. Blige's mom played "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" and "Ain't No Way" every day. In her essay accompanying Rolling Stone's best-singer-ever issue last year, the R&B hit maker declared: "She is the reason why women want to sing."

6. Every diva aspires to sing like her. Nobody can. Check out "Precious Lord, Part 2," a gospel standard Franklin recorded in the '50s. At one point, Aretha delivers a "Whoa-OH-oh-OH-OH!" that simultaneously creates the blueprint for Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and Celine Dion and sets the bar impossibly high.

7. We got to listen to her grow up in public. Before Franklin signed with Atlantic Records and belted the soul music that made her famous, she tinkered with pop standards — and didn't quite ignite with the material. Famously, in the early '60s, Columbia Records recorded her versions of "Misty," "What a Difference a Day Makes" and others.

8. She still has it. Stack up 2003's "So Damn Happy" and 1998's "A Rose Is Still a Rose" with the latest couple of records by Diana Ross, Tina Turner or even Michael Jackson and you'll find vulnerability, a willingness to experiment with new styles, an (almost) perfectly intact voice and, of course, soul.

SONGS WORTHY OF R-E-S-P-E-C-T