The hook is useful because it compresses a song into something memory can carry. It is also an incomplete measurement of the record around it.
Listen past the obvious moment. What happens to the harmony when the vocal leaves? What detail arrives only once? Does the second verse change the meaning of the first? Does the mix create depth, friction, closeness, or distance on purpose?
Music becomes easier to evaluate when the question shifts from whether one moment is catchy to whether the decisions around that moment create a complete experience.
The strongest records often reward both kinds of attention: immediate recognition and deeper return.