Audiophile 101

It can never be any better than the source can extract and deliver it to the next stage.

I would say read these forums, dig deep, search and find instead of repeated time and time again topics, people are so lazy these days it is scary.

I'm hardly one that should be answering this post since I'm a beginner myself, maybe advanced beginner. But, here are some tips I would recommend:

1) Remember that your room is part of your system.
2) Experiment with speaker placement. Half the problems in audio are proper speaker placement and the room. Moving your speakers will help you understand your room better and also make you a better listener. You don't always need to audition or buy lots of equipment to develop a critical ear. Small changes in speaker placement can dramatically effect the sound; learning how to hear those things will help you with the room and analytical listening.
3)Read alot. Both professional literature and the forums. Most importantly, don't believe everything you read.
4) Listen to lots of different music for critical listening. Don't just play a couple of reference recordings. Play as many as you can. Genreally, the component that can show the most differences between different recordings will be the most accurate and the most enjoyable. This will also help you understand your room, speaker placement and become a better listener.
5) Listen to lots of music and have fun. That's why you got into audio in the first place--the music.

Those would be my beginner tips.

Hartwerger: For a beginner I'm impressed. Maybe it takes time for people to put what you have as number 1 to number 10. But your first two things are the most important. Unfortunately, many people spend huge dollars on equipment and ignore number 1: the Room. 50% of the sound is indirect, thus coming from the room. The speakers and the room form a tuned circuit, so both placement and room acoustics are critical to good sound. Obviously, we at Rives Audio have a strong bias here--it is what we do, but I do firmly believe it should be the #1 item on the list.

Here is a link to a great primer on room acoustics.
Rives Audio Listening Room 101