# Is there a good audio book of Lord of the Rings?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-good-audio-book-of-lord-of-the-rings/806051
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 7, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-good-audio-book-of-lord-of-the-rings/806051 "2018-01-07T17:24:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-good-audio-book-of-lord-of-the-rings/806051/1 "2018-01-07T17:24:47Z")
I’ve read Lord of the Rings two or three times, so this is not my first experience with it. It’s something that I like to come back to every few years.
This time, I’d love an audio version of it to listen to in the car and during my bike rides. I have heard very mixed-negative reviews of most audio versions. Is there a good one?
I do have a copy of the BBC audio-play, which I have not heard. I know it isn’t a full-text unabridged version, but I thought it might be a great listen if a good full-audio does not exist.
Man, if there was a book for GraphicAudio to get the rights to, this would be it!
Thoughts?
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### Author:  [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-good-audio-book-of-lord-of-the-rings/806051/2 "2018-01-07T18:05:18Z")
I recall that the version read by Rob Inglis is very good, but it’s been a lot time since I heard it.
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-good-audio-book-of-lord-of-the-rings/806051/3 "2018-01-07T18:26:02Z")
If what you want is an actual unabridged reading of the books, AFAIK the only one available is by Rob Inglis, and it is a good one. I have listened to it/them and enjoyed it/them.
There also exist audio dramatizations, a British one from the BBC and an American one that was broadcast on NPR. I haven’t heard either of them, but from comments I have read here and elsewhere, the British version is the better of the two.
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-good-audio-book-of-lord-of-the-rings/806051/4 "2018-01-07T19:03:31Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#):
>
> There also exist audio dramatizations, a British one from the BBC and an American one that was broadcast on NPR. I haven’t heard either of them, but from comments I have read here and elsewhere, the British version is the better of the two.
Yes, I have a copy of the BBC one(as I said). I wasn’t aware of the American one.
I may add the audio-play to my “reading” queue, so to speak.
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### Author:  [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2018, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-good-audio-book-of-lord-of-the-rings/806051/5 "2018-01-07T23:56:01Z")
The NPR Highbridge Audio version has 2 buying options, published on the same date, with ratings a full star and a half apart on Amazon. The difference? The higher star version is packaged in a wooden box.
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### Author:  [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-good-audio-book-of-lord-of-the-rings/806051/6 "2018-01-08T00:12:22Z")
I like the BBC radio drama. Ian Holm (Bilbo in the LOTR movies) plays Frodo.
It has music, sound effects, and (some bad) singing.
Brian
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### Author:  [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2018, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-good-audio-book-of-lord-of-the-rings/806051/7 "2018-01-08T00:40:13Z")
Rob Inglis does a good job, IMO. If you want the unabridged books, and want an audio-book experience, rather than a radio-play type of experience, I would not hesitate to get it.
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### Author:  [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2018, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-good-audio-book-of-lord-of-the-rings/806051/8 "2018-01-08T00:46:33Z")
Another vote for Rob Inglis. He almost sounds like Tolkien, but better. Tolkien always sounds like he’s in a hurry to get it over with when he reads excerpts. You also have to get Martin Shaw’s Silmarillion. It is much easier to listen to as oral folklore.