It isn’t possible to overstate the impact this story has had on all kinds of media (books, films, video games, music etc) since it was first published in 1955. The world Tolkien writes about feels alive and full of history (in part because he spent years creating a complete overarching mythos and history of this world and the people in it (of which the Lord of the Rings is but a small part).
I think almost every fantasy fan will agree with this.
I actually finished it for the first time very recently. Such an incredible book and really put the films into a different perspective to me (the way the second film handles the Saruman death is just… awful, and some of the changes made seem unnecessary, also Fellowship seems like it rushes through too many plot points to me now lol)