I would not hire an architect without a reference or two. It is not about whether you liked their work, because that would have been their client's wishes. You want to know what the architect was like to work with.

I know people who are happy with the finished product but would never recommend their architect to anyone.

Although an architect may only give you names of people who will likely give a good reference, that does not mean those people cannot tell you things to be wary of, or things they learned along the way.