Are the concepts of forward vs laid back sound something I can start to understand from a description (if so a link would be great), or something I just have to actually hear?
It is something you will be able to hear in a direct comparison to another speaker.
How about this:
Forward / Forwardness
A quality of reproduction which seems to place sound sources closer than they were recorded. Usually the result of a humped midrange, plus a narrow horizontal dispersion pattern from the loudspeaker. The opposite of "Laid-Back."
From
here. 
