I've had my eye on the Howard Shore Lord of the Rings Complete musical recordings since the first one came out a couple of years ago. Currently, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers are available as three CD plus one DVD-A sets. I haven't heard much about a Return of the King set, but it must be in some stage of production.

The sets are a bit pricey at $50–70 retail. They don't come up often on ebay, and Amazon's price is a pathetic 3% off or so. Recently I had the chance to get them for about 20% off, so I bit. After more than a week of shipping time, they arrived yesterday.

I did some preliminary listening, and I must say I'm awe-struck! The high resolution sound of the DVD-A in both hi-rez stereo and high-rez surround is sensational. Since the movies themselves were such enveloping experiences sonically, the surround versions sound just right to me.

As I get more time, I'll add more reactions to the thread. I have not been a big fan of soundtrack albums, though occasionally I've liked one here or there. This is not a simple soundtrack album, however; it's a complete orchestral rendering of the monumental music scored for the films.

Anyone else have either or both of these?