The regular 2002 album originally priced between $15 to $17 in the stores is the regular U.S. release. The 2002 limited release is indicated by a higher price and a sticker indicating its "limited" nature on the front plastic. The musical contents are the same on all the 2002 products except for the inclusion of one bonus track on the limited editions. The value of the different cover inserts (on the trading block) is yet to be determined. They could very well end up useless unless you acquire a whole set of 5 covers.

The 2003 trilogy set is essentially the original three albums from the films combined into one package (with no extra music). The 2006 set includes the complete recordings, priced initially for between $55 and $65 (the list retail price for this set is $15 higher than the complete set of the first score in 2005), and features the DVD with 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound along with three CDs that offer 188 minutes from the score in 16-bit stereo sound. Other higher resolution variants on sound quality exist on the DVD. (See review for details.)

The 2010 Howe Records album called "The Rarities Archive" was only available in the back cover of the Doug Adams book The Music of The Lord of the Rings Films: A Comprehensive Account of Howard Shore's Scores. That book had an MSRP of $60 but initially sold new for under $40.

The 2018 complete set is a re-issue of the 2006 product but with a Blu-ray disc rather than a DVD for the surround sound option. It debuted for $80 but went out of print after about a year, escalating in price to $350 or more.

Winner of a Grammy Award.

•	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
•	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
•	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
•	The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
•	The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
•	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
•	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone