pindac makes a good point. The vast majority of music we listen to is electronically created and is a product of the producer's fantasy.
I prefer live recordings done in one take, preferably with one mic in a nice room and an experienced engineer. Good examples are recordings by John Cuniberti for his OneMic series.
There are plenty of really good live recording, especially classical and jazz. Pop music; not so much (not to say the recordings are bad, but they are artifices of the recording process and the resultant recordings are constructions that never happened in real time).
Not that it matters much. If you like it, it is good!
Is it possible to really know what you're doing?
Somehow I managed to select components that are getting along and feel comfortable with how things are sounding after many upgrades. I rely on others to advise along the way. I'm very good at asking questions.
Every facet of a set up is quite complicated. Even power cord's can be challenging. Name recognition is very important and there are so many names.
The technical aspects of everything involved is clearly overwhelming and requires a lot to barely understand. I've learned enough to know that I really don't understand a lot. At least I'm able to appreciate what I'm listening to which is all that really matters, and know if something sounds good.
Just my thoughts for what they are worth.