USA’s Tolkien Audio Productions

The USA’s Tolkien audio output is dominated by the American Printing House productions for the Library of Congress. See here for a much more detailed guide. Caedmon have released extensive recordings made by JRR and Christopher Tolkien and Recorded Books Inc gave us the unabridged readings of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by Rob Inglis – for decades the only official unabridged readings.
There have also been very notable amateur productions, the Mind’s Eye (under the direction of Bernard Mayes) made enthusiastically spirited dramatisations. While in the 2010s two remarkable, fan-based passion projects gave us superb unabridged soundscapes with full music and sound effects – The Lord of the Rings by Phil Dragash and The Hobbit by Bluefax.
Productions








































Artists





















| 1967 | Poems and Songs of Middle Earth | JRR Tolkien | Caedmon |
| 1967 | The Hobbit | Alan Haines | Library of Congress |
| 1968 | The Lord of the Rings | Norman Barrs | Library of Congress |
| 1968 | The Hobbit | Harold Innocent | KPFK |
| 1971 | The Lord of the Rings | Livingston Gilbert | Library of Congress |
| 1975 | Reads and Sings The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring | JRR Tolkien | Caedmon |
| 1975 | Reads and Sings The Two Towers and Return of the King | JRR Tolkien | Caedmon |
| 1977 | The Silmarillion: Of Beren and Lúthien | Christopher Tolkien | Caedmon |
| 1977 | JRR Tolkien Soundbook / Collection | JRR & Christopher Tolkien | Caedmon |
| 1978 | The Silmarillion | Bob Askey | Library of Congress |
| 1978 | The Hobbit | Bob Askey | Library of Congress |
| 1978 | The Darkening of Valinor and the Flight of the Noldor | Christopher Tolkien | Caedmon |
| 1979 | The Hobbit | Full Cast | Mind’s Eye |
| 1979 | The Lord of the Rings | Full Cast | Mind’s Eye |
| 1982 | Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth | Norman Barrs | Library of Congress |
| 1984 | The Book of Lost Tales, Part 1 | Patrick Horgan | Library of Congress |
| 1986 | The Book of Lost Tales, Part 2 | John Horton | Library of Congress |
| 1990 | The Lord of the Rings | Rob Inglis | Recorded Books Inc |
| 1991 | The Hobbit | Rob Inglis | Recorded Books Inc |
| 1999 | The Lord of the Rings | David Palmer | Library of Congress |
| 2001 | The Hobbit | Carol Jordan Stewart | Library of Congress |
| 2006 | The Silmarillion | Erin Jones | Library of Congress |
| 2007 | Essential Tolkien | JRR Tolkien | HarperCollins |
| 2008 | The Children of Húrin | Roy Avers | Library of Congress |
| 2008 | Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth | Erin Jones | Library of Congress |
| 2009 | A Rare Recording Of | JRR Tolkien | Listen & Live Audio |
| 2010 | The Lord of the Rings | Phil Dragash | Amateur |
| 2017 | On Fairy Stories | Commando Solo | Amateur |
| 2017 | Beren and Lúthien | Steven Carpenter | Library of Congress |
| 2019 | The Hobbit | Bluefax | Amateur |
| 2019 | The Fall of Gondolin | George Holmes | Library of Congress |
| 2022 | On Fairy Stories | James Majewski | Catholic Culture Audiobooks |
| 2023 | The Fall of Númenor | George Holmes | Library of Congress |
| 2023 | The Adventures of Tom Bombadil | Andy Pyle | Library of Congress |
| 2023 | The Lays of Beleriand | George Holmes | Library of Congress |
| 2023 | The Lost Road and Other Writings | George Holmes | Library of Congress |
| 2024 | The Shaping of Middle-Earth | George Holmes | Library of Congress |
