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but leave out Shippey and Flieger and Carl Hostetter?
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Shippey is there, at #16. And so is Flieger, listed alongside Owen Barfield at # 30.
I'm ashamed to say I don't know some of the people on that list.
I think the anonymous student must be placed at the top though. After all, this is how the hobbit saga started, more or less.
But why not bring in, if it comes to that, the anonymous writer(s) of Christ of Cynewulf, whose line 'Eala Earendel...' inspired Tolkien to create the mythology of Middle Earth?
I realize this list is meant to serve the movie-goers who know the Lord of the Rings mainly as a movie, and while I really like the movies myself, I still don't agree with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh getting the top spot for 'bringing people to the books'. Those people would have got to the books eventually, sooner or later. And I won't even start on those moviegoers who went to the books, only to be bored by them. For the same reason, I don't see J.K.R as belonging in this top. Sure, I love HP, sure, she made kids read more and kudos to her for that. But her world and Tolkien's world are two different things, and one's idea of 'fantasy' radically different from the others'. I'm sure some people love HP and can't stand LOTR (and vice versa, of course )
As, for how these people are described - I would have liked to see a more detailed account of their contribution to Tolkien's works/life and why they are so important, besides simply stating their brief relationship to him: (ex: school friend).
But, on the whole, and not being a Tolkien expert I find it a satisfactory list.
EDIT: did I say satisfactory? I just spotted Robert Plant in there...
Maybe Nightwish should be listed here too, since they sometimes happen to mention Tolkien related stuff in their songs? And Blind Guardian were simply robbed!