Beyond simply reading, make use of the forums to ask specific questions, and hit many of the different forums. Some are large and have a lot of garbage and politics of the industry thrown in to weed through, while others are often a bit smaller and may offer more direct advice, or perhaps may be over the heads of the members and deliver no advice at all.
I'm not as much a singular audio-head guy, but I'm a video guy, and more specifically a projector guy. So, within the forums, you may find that you want to go to specific sections and get the advice from the people that focus on more specific areas of expertise.
Big things are learning the acoustics of your room, and if you want improvements, understanding that the first step is not equipment, but the space itself. Committing to good audio in a room may mean pulling speakers away from walls, moving things around, and just generally making the room less 'livable', but more 'functional' for the purpose. This is often the great compromise with She Who Must Be Obeyed (SWMBO).
Much of audio then will still come down to what you personally like and how you personally want to listen to things. So, yes, go listen. Big retailers will have no issues typically. Smaller places typically won't either and they certainly are the ones you should shoot to purchase from if you can.