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If I could hesitate to recommend a few composers, I would recommend this...
Listen to the guys that Bach revered as the "greats," both contemporary and earlier composers; learn where he found his inspiration, learn what he considered good. It's relatively common knowledge that he considered Handel to be the greatest musician alive (if he didn't consider himself the greatest), and Vivaldi the individual who "taught" him music. As for counterpoint, although both of them were much more homophonically-driven, they can be contrapuntalists in the serious, strict sense- take a look at their fugues, I find them much more liberating than Bach's, and no less brilliant or inspired.
If "strict" counterpoint is what you must have to satisfy yourself, take a look at the masters who developed "true" counterpoint, where the notes aren't necessarily written to create harmonies; Machaut's Missa de Notre Dame, Leonin and Perotin all wrote melodies without paying as much attention to where the harmonic progressions would lead.
Finally, if you want to "free-" and I use the word free very liberally, I consider counterpoint to be a necessity in most music, at least a bass melody and soprano melody- yourself from strict counterpoint, try the Bach sons and Quantz, or rather, look at Bach's gallant pieces (flute sonatas, musical offering's trio sonata, etc)... he wrote pieces without counterpoint, and they sound just as brilliant as those with it.
I'd say more, but I'm late for something.
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