You can learn a hell of a lot about lenses by actually buying and using them extensively, especially those that occupy the top shelf in renown quality, rather than the instant legends propagated by photography magazines and forums which usually having a vested interest somewhere.
Those tests in magazines are very, very subjective. You are better speaking or working with a photographer actively working with lenses and scrutinising the resulting images (not prints!). Other than some preparatory detective work that addresses what your subject matter is, how you photograph it and what type of lens performance you see will do you now and into the future, a solid foundation skillbase in photography and lots of active shooting will do more for you than trawling through magazines.