高そうに見える specifically emphasizes the "appearance" aspect of it.
I believe either Toritoribeさん or myself mentioned before that the -そう construction meaning "seems" does not necessarily refer to physical appearance.
If someone tells me they're majoring in quantum physics, or describes to me their recipe for apple pie, I could might say 難しそうですね or 美味しそうですね, respectively.
(If -そうに見える seems redundant to you, it's only because you're thinking in English and mentally glossing -そう itself as "looks" or "appears.")
And yes, the plain form is 高そう. You'll hear forms like this (美味しそう!美味しそうだね!) all the time.
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