Audiobooks Like The Hobbit

Read more

Andy Serkis narrates The Hobbit with a physicality you can actually hear — his Gollum in particular is something you'd expect from the actor, but he brings that same inhabiting quality to Bilbo's fussiness and Gandalf's authority, making the ten-hour runtime feel like the journey it describes. Two of the recommendations share his narration, two more are from Tolkien, and the group as a whole collects award-winning epic fantasy that delivers on the same sense of world built from the ground up.

10 audiobooks for fans of The Hobbit

  1. 1
    The Two Towers cover

    The Two Towers

    Middle-earth • Book 3

    by J.R.R. Tolkien

    Narrated by Rob Inglis

    4.88 ABR Score (1.2M ratings)
    ★ 4.5 Goodreads (1.1M) ★ 4.88 Audible (50.1K)
    More about this pick

    Rob Inglis's complete performance captures every voice from Gollum's hissing to Treebeard's ancient wisdom across this 16-hour journey through Middle-earth's darkening war.

  2. 2
    The Fellowship of the Ring cover

    The Fellowship of the Ring

    Middle-earth • Book 2

    by J.R.R. Tolkien

    Narrated by Peter Woodthorpe, Ian Holm, Robert Stephens, Michael Hordern, Bill Nighy, John McAndrew, David Collings, Douglas Livingstone, Full Cast

    4.56 ABR Score (3.2M ratings)
    ★ 4.41 Goodreads (3.2M) ★ 4.49 Audible (4.0K)
    More about this pick

    Rob Inglis transforms Tolkien's dense mythology into an immersive journey, handling everything from hobbit dialects to elvish songs. His decades of experience with this material shows in every character voice.

  3. 3
    The Return of the King cover

    The Return of the King

    Middle-earth • Book 4

    by J.R.R. Tolkien

    Narrated by full cast

    4.45 ABR Score (1.1M ratings)
    ★ 4.58 Goodreads (1.1M) ★ 4.35 Audible (283)
    More about this pick

    Frodo and Sam struggle through Mordor to destroy the Ring while Aragorn claims his throne in Middle-earth's final battle against darkness.

  4. 4
    The Silmarillion - Of the Fall of Númenor and the Rings of Power cover

    The Silmarillion - Of the Fall of Númenor and the Rings of Power

    by J.R.R. Tolkien

    Narrated by Samuel West

    4.37 ABR Score (341.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.04 Goodreads (340.7K) ★ 4.68 Audible (552)
    More about this pick

    Tolkien's creation mythology unfolds from the Silmarils' forging through Middle-earth's Elder Days, with Samuel West lending gravitas to these foundational legends.

  5. 5
    Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets cover

    Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

    Harry Potter (Full-Cast Editions) • Book 2

    by J.K. Rowling

    Narrated by Hugh Laurie, Matthew Macfadyen, Kit Harington, Riz Ahmed, Michelle Gomez, Daniel Mays, Mark Addy, Simon Pegg, Cush Jumbo, Alex Hassell, Gemma Whelan, Indira Varma, Frankie Treadaway, Max Lester, Arabella Stanton

    4.79 ABR Score (4.5M ratings)
    ★ 4.43 Goodreads (4.5M) ★ 4.9 Audible (5.0K)
    More about this pick

    Kit Harington joins the returning cast as Hogwarts faces an ancient monster that petrifies students and threatens the school's very existence.

  6. 6
    The Sandman: Act I cover

    The Sandman: Act I

    Sandman Audible Original • Book 1

    by Dirk Maggs, Neil Gaiman, Riz Ahmed, Kat Dennings, Taron Egerton, James McAvoy, Andy Serkis, Samantha Morton, Bebe Neuwirth, Michael Sheen, Arthur Darvill, Miriam Margolyes

    Narrated by Riz Ahmed, Kat Dennings, Taron Egerton, Neil Gaiman, James McAvoy, Samantha Morton, Bebe Neuwirth, Andy Serkis, Michael Sheen

    4.62 ABR Score (78.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.39 Goodreads (24.9K) ★ 4.63 Audible (53.1K)
    More about this pick

    Dream of the Endless escapes century-long captivity to reclaim his stolen tools and rebuild his shattered realm. The star-studded cast including James McAvoy creates a fully immersive audio experience of Gaiman's mythic world.

  7. 7
    Small Gods cover

    Small Gods

    Discworld • Book 13

    by Terry Pratchett

    Narrated by Andy Serkis, Bill Nighy, Peter Serafinowicz

    4.54 ABR Score (136.0K ratings)
    ★ 4.32 Goodreads (134.6K) ★ 4.77 Audible (1.4K)
    More about this pick

    Pratchett's razor-sharp satire about a god forgotten by everyone except one simple believer becomes pure comedy gold through the stellar ensemble cast—Serkis, Nighy, and Serafinowicz each capture different facets of divine absurdity.

  8. 8
    Howl's Moving Castle cover

    Howl's Moving Castle

    Howl's Castle • Book 1

    by Diana Wynne Jones

    Narrated by Jenny Sterlin

    4.63 ABR Score (467.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.28 Goodreads (453.3K) ★ 4.7 Audible (13.9K)
    More about this pick

    Sophie's curse transforms her into an old woman, leading to her job cleaning house for the vain wizard Howl in his walking castle. Jenny Sterlin brings warmth to this tale where self-doubt becomes literal transformation and true character shines through magical chaos.

  9. 9
    Tress of the Emerald Sea cover

    Tress of the Emerald Sea

    Hoid's Travails • Book 1

    by Brandon Sanderson, Howard Lyon

    Narrated by Michael Kramer

    4.61 ABR Score (302.4K ratings)
    ★ 4.32 Goodreads (297.2K) ★ 4.74 Audible (5.1K)
    More about this pick

    A simple island girl ventures across deadly spore seas to rescue her kidnapped love, with Sanderson's trademark magic systems governing every ocean. Michael Kramer brings warmth to this fairy-tale adventure that feels like The Princess Bride in a cosmere setting.

  10. 10
    Unfinished Tales cover

    Unfinished Tales

    Unfinished Tales

    by J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien

    Narrated by Timothy West, Samuel West

    4.41 ABR Score (46.4K ratings)
    ★ 4.02 Goodreads (44.9K) ★ 4.77 Audible (1.5K)
    More about this pick

    Tolkien's unpublished fragments expand Middle-earth's mythology with alternative versions of familiar stories and entirely new adventures across the ages.

How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →