Believe me, I don't agree with everything Rand said or did.
She was a very strange individual - couldn't drive a car, had trouble with basic everyday physical items, carried on an affair for years and tried to justify it, and had a horrible and nasty temper.
But she provided the strongest case of all for the concept/preservation of individual rights.
Her best novel (IMO), from a pure literary sense, is We the Living.
I laugh hysterically when I hear connections to modern names - such as last year when there was a connection between Paul Ryan and Ayn Rand. Rand saved her strongest vitriol for the Catholic Church.
Actually, the greatest thing I've gotten from reading her is an appreciation for Aristotle, Henrik Ibsen, Victor Hugo, and O.Henry (her favorite philosopher/playwright/authors)
Also...if you want a good laugh, here is a great parody...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIk5C2qsRH8Her followers were furious about this, but truthfully, it is rather funny.
