Another old school collector here. Started out with the carded Universal Monsters but I, too, stopped paying attention for a while, until the LOTR extended edition DVDs were announced. When I saw the pictures of the Argonath, I knew I would own them, but I also knew I would have to find more. What was funny was that even after learning that the DVD statues were from Sideshow, I didn't make the connection until I visited the web site.
I ordered Gandalf, Legolas, Sam & Bill, and RWOS, and it's been all downhill from there.