I enjoyed the first radio series. I think I was less than 14.* I've never read the books and I only vaguely remember the TV series.
I read The Hobbit around the same time and enjoyed it, but got bogged down when trying to read LOTR a little later. Just too much of it, too many digressions, too much detail, too many genealogies and too much history. LOTR compared to The Hobbit is like the Old Testament compared to Jesus Christ, Superstar!**
*Just checked. Significantly less than 14!
**I've never seen it but we all sang the songs in the school playground, with humorously rearranged lyrics, at some time probably before even HHGTTG.