The best of the three I fell in love with LTR when the first one came out. I had no desire to see Fellowship, but was talked into it anyway. I thought I'd hate the movie. I never read any of the books chalking them to some geeky swords, and wizards thing. I was wrong. Fellowship was amazing. I ran out and got the books, and became a huge fan of Tolkien and his writing.
The toughest part of the series of books for me was Return of the King. Not because it was bad, but because it was the end. I had vested alot of time in reading the series of books, and felt like in a weird way like they were friends. I really cared about these people in the books. So instead of taking me a month to read it took me 4 months to finish simply because I didn't want they journey to end and for me to have to say goodbye to them.
So, when the last movie came out it had alot to live up to in my mind. The final installment lives up to all the hype that most movies do not. It ties up everything very nicely. Some have criticized it for being too long or too short, but I think this is what we all go to the movies for. To get vested in the lives of the characters. To care what happens to them, and when its over we may even feel a little sad.
This is the best movie of the year. No other movie comes close to the scope, the work, or the love this movie has behind it and in it.