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Originally Posted by narfforc
Tolkien brought us back home to our world, that world drifts at the edge of our memory. We recognize all the things our ancestors held dear, and the things they feared, we see a hope that mankind can be so much more.
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I think this sums up just why Tolkien's writing does have such a grip on us. It is about a whole other world, yes, but it is one we can recognise. Not only did Tolkien make use of archetypal figures, but he also drew on what he knew himself. He had experienced grief, longing and war, so he writes about these as one who knows what they are like. He also included what he loved, the countryside, poetry and even his ale and tobacco. And then he simply allowed his imagination to conjour up new ideas as he worked. There was little plan, he didn't keep to his deadline (I would say he didn't need to, he already had a job), and he had no market in mind. All this added up to making LotR what it is.
What I'm trying to say is that Tolkien's work is unique. It has had a huge influence, but it is indeed hard to find those concrete examples. There are the works which copy him, and those which deliberately draw on his own influences, we can easily spot those, but what of the rest? I think that his influence is so large, one of the greatest impacts it has had is to make writers do something different, so I'm not that surprised that its hard to find concrete examples.