Good question. But I would look at it differently. First, sound is tailored by high end companies very carefully. While consumer products are designed around cheap subcomponents and lots of features to put in the marketing material. So, the sound in high end equipment is carefully crafted to have a house sound. MacIntosh, Boulder, Luxman, and Audio Research all have house sounds. Then they refine these sounds the higher up the ladder of their products to sound better of that flavor.
Second is you will need to match your tastes to the company that produces the sound that matches your taste. So, for instance if I liked just rock and have my chest feel the impact of kick drums... I would pick MacIntosh and B&W. But if I was into Jazz and classical I would pick something completely different.
It took me a long time to learn what I wanted, and in the process changes what I liked. So, first order research that I would recommend is to listen to music. The kind you like, live. For me I went to acoustic jazz clubs and the symphony. That is because I didn’t just like rock, but all kinds of music. The best thing to do is to set your objectives on fidelity to the real thing, and all electronic music is unverifiable. So, learn what acoustic music should sound like... unless you only like Rock or only electronic.
The issue with just looking for what sound good is that while it is easy. To just go for detail and slam... as they are easy to sense. They are like the salt and fat in junk food. You can end up with a sparkling system that kicks ass, but has completely lost the emotional connection, the thing the draws you to live music. You can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a "sound spectacular" system, but that you can get bored with after listening for 45 minutes because it has no soul. While a musical system can captivate you for hours. So, before you buy, get out and listen to a real piano... jazz club, symphony. Then do research and listen to equipment.