Sailcappy,
FWIW, one thing that can help somewhat that I do not see mentioned in your story, is learning how to leverage component specifications into the buying decision. This is the only way to inject anything objective into the complex decision making process involved with getting one's "ultimate sound". Some specs are useful, some are not. But they are often the only thing concrete you can go by when trying to decide what components might work best with others.
FWIW, one thing that can help somewhat that I do not see mentioned in your story, is learning how to leverage component specifications into the buying decision. This is the only way to inject anything objective into the complex decision making process involved with getting one's "ultimate sound". Some specs are useful, some are not. But they are often the only thing concrete you can go by when trying to decide what components might work best with others.