+1 attend as many audio shows as you can. Inevitably certain rooms will jump out at you as sounding really good to you. Take notes on what you really liked about the sound of each of these rooms and all the equipment therein — including things like interconnects, speaker/power cables, and power conditioners — then you can read reviews of all the components and you’ll probably start to see similarities in what their strengths are that, in turn, will tell you a lot about your personal tastes and direct you to what other equipment you can explore that exhibit similar characteristics and are in your price range (if the show gear isn’t). To me, this is the most efficient and comprehensive way to learn and get up to speed faster and will put you in a better position to make good purchase decisions. Oh yeah, and it’s a helluva lotta fun to boot. Hope this helps, and best of luck.
