Aretha Franklin. Not much more needs to be said about this woman than what has already been said. She is, according to 'Rolling Stone' magazine the greatest vocalist of all-time, and she has been honored many times in her career, including a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, and being the only performer on the bill at Barack Obama's presidential nomination in 2009. Aretha, over her 54-year career, has truly done it all.

'Playlist: The Very Best of Aretha Franklin' was released in 2008 under Legacy Records. This is another entry in the massive 'Playlist' series, which focuses on artists who recorded on the Sony BMG labels (artists as diverse as Lou Reed and Steve Perry have entries in the series). Aretha's, as shocking as it is, is really not bad at all. In fact, it might be one of her best single-disc retrospectives on the market. If you are new to Aretha, and you need a good starting point, 'Playlist' isn't a bad way to delve into her mammoth catalogue by any stretch.

However, before I advance any further, one must understand Aretha is quite hard to anthologize. She recorded under three labels (four, if you count the one gospel album she released for Chess Records): Columbia (1960-1966), Atlantic (1967-1979), and Arista (1979-2005). Three completely different labels, so that makes it difficult right off the bat. Despite this, Legacy did go the extra mile and included something from all different phases of her career. Despite material lacking, this alone makes it a worthwhile buy for the curious or new Aretha fan.

The best way to summarize this album is to take a look at the positives and negatives of this album.

POSITIVES

- On 'Playlist,' you get tracks from Aretha's Columbia, Atlantic, and Arista years -- in essence, you get a career retrospective, spanning her Columbia days of the early 1960s all the way through to 1998, when 'A Rose is Still a Rose' (her attempt at a hip hop track, produced by the Fugees' Lauryn Hill) was released. So, you get a good picture of what Aretha's career was about.

- Some rarities are on here, too. The original 12" mix of 'Jump to It,' which has becoming increasingly harder to find (correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's ever been available on CD) is here, and believe me, it's better than the version that everyone has to come to know. THIS is the version of the song that should appear on every compilation, not the 1982 album mix.

- The sound quality is excellent. These days, the "loudness war" has begun -- where CDs are remastered so loudly that they sound compressed and distorted. Not so here. The sound is perfectly crisp and clear -- not too loud, but just perfect.

NEGATIVES

- Look, it's been said before, but it's true. You just can't summarize Aretha Franklin on a single disc. It's impossible. 'Playlist' is a nice attempt (and it's better than the previous multi-label compilation, 2001's 'Aretha's Best' by a country mile, despite that disc having more songs), but there's too much missing. I know that Atlantic is owned by Warner and Legacy is owned by Sony BMG (two rival labels), but why not include 'Think' or 'You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman'? Or perhaps a '70s classic like 'Rock Steady' or 'Spanish Harlem'? Surely, if they could license 'Respect' and 'Chain of Fools' for this collection, it couldn't be that hard to license one of those.

- Not enough space. The total run time for this CD is 59:49, meaning that there is almost 21 minutes left of disc space to fill. That means, you could have included 'Get it Right,' her cover of the jazz standard 'Misty' (I actually prefer this version over Sarah Vaughan's classic version, believe it or not), 'Every Girl Wants My Guy' or any of the Atlantic classics listed above. (By the way, they could have included 'Think 1989,' the remake that was released on the 'Through the Storm' album if they couldn't get the rights to the classic Atlantic version. Just a thought.)

Overall, buy this if you are a new, casual, or curious Aretha fan looking for a place to delve into her catalogue. If you are a die-hard fan, buy it for the remastered sound (oh boy, is it crisp!) and for the original 12" mix of 'Jump to It' (which, prior to the release of this compilation, was quite rare). There is a LOT to recommend about this compilation. It's affordable, it's got everything a new fan needs to get started, plus some nuggets for the fanatical fan. Three stars is perfect for this set. I wish they would have included more material, but what's here is great.

Recommended.