Should I read LOTR even if I wasn't too crazy about the films?

Admittedly, I've never been a huge fan of the LOTR films. However, I would not want a film adaptation to push me away from the source material, and learning how much of an impact Tolkien had on the hippie subculture (which I am currently researching) has sparked an interest in me to pick the first book up.

I have read all of ASOIAF so far and liked them a lot, for what it's worth. My favorite books are Catch-22, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and One Hundred Years of Solitude.

What say you?