So, i like the music used in the LOTR Trilogy but i’m not going to shell out for 3 seperate soundtrack albums.
So, suggestions, which one should i get?
The FOTR soundtrack has quite a bit of elven-type music in it and the Fellowship theme is played several times. Overall, I think it has a lighter feel to it than the others.
The TT soundtrack features the Rohan theme, which I absolutely love. There’s also some more elven-type music and wonderful war music for the battle of Helm’s Deep. I don’t care much for the songs related to Gollum/Smeagol, but I’m sure others like the sounds of those songs.
The ROTK soundtrack is my favorite. There’s some music to represent the elves, some hobbit-y music, the Rohan theme, and the Gondor theme, which I like even more than the Rohan theme. This soundtrack has a lot more big, soaring pieces in it, and I find myself picturing scenes from the movie when I listen to the music.
I think this would depend on which movie you liked the best because the music reflects the feel of each of the three.
None. Get the Kill Bill, Volume 1 soundtrack.
I love all three, so the clincher would for me be the final song. In which case TTT wins because of the gorgeous Gollums song.
The soundtracks pretty much follow the feeling of the films, so you can base part of your judgement on that.
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The Fellowship soundtrack has a lighter tone than the other two, with lots of Hobbit-related themes. It is perhaps the most charming and intimate of the three. Enya sings two songs on this one, which worked quite well.
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The Two Towers score is the darkest of the three. The theme of the second film was finding hope in the face of hopelessness, and the music carries that theme out well. There’s very little in the way of cheerful music on this one. “Gollum’s Song” at the end, as Dragon Phoenix mentioned, is a masterpiece.
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The music for Return of the King is partially a mix of the above… it has some very dark themes (“Minas Morgul” and “Shelob’s Lair” most notably), and some lighthearted material as well, but it has a much greater scope in the music than the previous two. It’s an almost operatic album, with stirring themes for Gondor and Rohan worked into the climactic Mount Doom themes. I challenge you not to be moved by “The White Tree” or “The Fields of the Pelennor,” or not to feel tears on your cheeks while listening to Annie Lennox singing for “Into the West.”
I love all three scores, and frankly I can’t imagine not owning any of them… but if pressed, I suppose I’m partial to the Return of the King score. I love the fact that the music is dramatic without melodrama, and that it successfully combines all the different elements of story in its themes. It really depends on your tastes, though.
Of course, you could always get the set of all three. Just a thought. 
Oh, and ignore Gadfly, the sycophant.
Although it’s front-loaded with the Nazgul theme. Which is cool, but you get a lot of it. 
I also love all three soundtracks – if I were going to pick one, I’d get RotK, probably, because it’s got a little of everything, and I wouldn’t want to miss the Gondor theme (it sounds like flying! ;)) or the Grey Havens track. Or the flutey bit on the track “The Black Gate Opens.” But then, you don’t hear enough of the Rohan theme, and I’d miss “Gollum’s Song” (though I also really like “Into the West”), and the martial version of the Lorien theme. And of course FotR has that wonderful music from Moria…
Oh, there’s no help for it; you’ll have to get them all.
**Avalonian **just about sums it up. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that the ROTK soundtrack actually contains very few bold statements of older themes. The new Gondor theme and the Shire/ Hobbit motif are the only “hero themes” that are used fairly often on the album. The Fellowship theme that has become the musical centerpiece of the films appears rarely, and even then only in a subdued form. This may sound odd if you’ve already seen the film, as the old themes certainly aren’t underused: the Rohan theme, for example, is played in its full glory at least twice (panning over Edoras, during the charge of the Rohirrim), while the Fellowship theme itself gets a resounding performance with full choir at the Cracks of Doom. The only way these discrepancies make sense to me is if they comprised a conscious decision by Howard Shore. He knew that he would only fit a third of the film’s music on the soundtrack album anyway, and probably decided to focus on the new material, rather than replay old stuff that we’ve heard already.
A wise decision, IMO. I think the end result is destined to become my favorite album of the three, though (like with the films themselves!) I will never be able to listen to just one consistently. I love the old material too much, and there are moments of spine-tingling brilliance on all three: the death of Boromir in Amon Hen, the charge of Gandalf and the Rohirrim in Forth Eorlingas, and the lighting of the beacons in The White Tree, just to name a few of my favorite cues.
Ack, forgot to note… minor ROTK spoilers in the above post, if you haven’t yet seen it.
Question for you guys who have obviously already purchased the ROTK soundtrack: Is the song Pippin sings on there? Thanks.
Thanks people.
I had a strong premonition the answer was going to be buy all of them but i shall consider your recomendations and make my purchase accordingly.
I try.
Sorry if I came off as rude, but…
I just like Kill Bill’s soundtrack amazing, whereas the LOTR soundtrack is good, but… It’s just more big orchestral music with a few vocals here and there, just like most “epic” movies, and like a lot of other movies these days.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I see a lot of movies, and I get tired of it. Hence, I tend to like soundtracks that do other things, like Lost In Translation, with it’s light electronica, or Kill Bill, with lots and lots of trumpets.
It is definitely on there, as part of “The Steward of Gondor”.
Gadfly, sorry if I sounded snarky. I really didn’t intend it as bad as it sounded… I only meant a little ribbing. 
Another question: I, too heard the Nazgul theme in the theatre during ROTK and assume it will be on the soundtrack. However, I did notice that they took out the singing 
Perhaps the singing is specific to non-witchking nazguls?
Is there singing in the nazgul-themed sections of ROTK soundtrack, even though it didnt appear in the score? That was the best part of the FOTR soundtrack. The best part of TTT soundtrack (besides Gollum’s Song,) was the Lorien War Theme. That could even be used for a modern military march.
A decision I’m very, very glad about. Also, the title track has Aragorn’s chant from his coronation…