Yes, she's got a great voice, but let's not overpraise her. While it is true that she can blow curtains back from two miles hence, she's not exactly a master of subtlety (she seems to be saying "Look how loud/high/loud/high/loud I can sing" as opposed to "look how beautiful this song is and what the composer is trying to say and how artistically I'm interpreting it"), the material she chooses to sing is, to put it diplomatically...a bit on the trite side (with notable exceptions), and, belting range goddess though she may be, she will never be remembered for her brilliant acting.
As to her overwhelming niceness and gentle personality, that is certainly not a general consensus, as can be attested to by those who have worked with her. (Then again, nobody is nice all the time, we're all human, even Linda Eder.)
That said...I'm a huge fan nonetheless, and I'd rather hear her version of "I, Don Quixote" than any man's, any day. :)
Suzanne: I never use catalogs. I'd rather go in the store and see all the salespeople groveling and sucking up to you.
Julia: Pardon me, I never knew they were so solicitous at the K-Mart.