Makrinos, Beard and Higgins nudge the general reader towards the Emily Wilson translation. I bought the Norton Critical Edition of Wilson’s translation because of its detailed footnotes, maps, appendices and book-by-book summaries, helping to situate the struggling reader.
And since I have the Wilson translation of The Iliad on my shelf - not The Odyssey though - I decided to give it a go. This is immensely readable, easily the most approachable translation I’ve encountered so far. Leagues ahead of my German translation from the late 18th century (spoiler: reading it in Greek is probably easier).
If you want Homer condensed and approachable you‘ll have to turn to Stephen Fry‘s books - but if you want the actual text translated into a version you can at once understand and appreciate for its raw melodic power this would probably be your best bet.