I, personally, always look for a good melody. Not that that's all that should be in a song, but some people can listen to the sound of trains shunting or whatever and call it music, or people banging on dustbin lids while yodelling. I don't find that musical at all.
To expand, in a song that's non-instrumental I like to hear good lyrics. I like lyrics that make me think, are clever or maybe rhyme well, or badly but badly well if you know what I mean. I also like to hear a "hook" in a song, be it a keyboard arpeggio, guitar solo, bassline or whatever. Most importantly, the musicians have to sound or make me believe that they enjoy what they're doing. I don't like music that's clearly created just to sell (only to sell) records without any real heart or soul or sincerity in it.
I also like something that I either I will remember later or that takes me by surprise by how good or interesting it is. Always nice to get a pleasant surprise, no less so in music than in anything else in life.
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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018
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