DS;
I enjoy reading your thoughtful posts.
I know that there are songs I am quickly enamored of and others that fail to hold interest and also songs that I can't stop hearing soon enough.
I am a fledgling musician and when I try to identify why I like it, it's often the rhythm, the lyric and the melody.

Without more music theory chops I cannot be sure whether it is Counterpoint(CP).
Are you able to offer some additional examples with CP? and without CP?
Now I am curious to know about some of my alltime fav songs and CP
>>> Off I go, spiralling through the web for CP

This topic, counterpoint, might be the connection that links it together for me to explain why I like some songs so much. I will add it to my todo list for research. Any suggested reading reference is appreciated.

The other way I find that I learn to really respect a song is when I study it and work with it to be able to play it on guitar. Example Neon Moon Brooks&Dunn. When it was a hit I didn't listen to it, I was immature and it was a line dance song. I don't line dance.
Now I really enjoy the song, the imagery and the movement in the song even in it's simplest form.

{watching this thread}
RrR