We've all been there. You're engrossed in a TV show or movie when you suddenly hear an awesome song that you don't recognize. Or music that you really want to hear again.

But how do you find out the title and artist? Fear not, as this article details how to find music and songs from TV shows using the best resources we could find on the web.

1. Tunefind

tunefind tv music

You may recall HeardOnTV. It used to be one of the most popular websites specializing in helping you find songs from TV shows and movies. Since 2017, HeardOnTV has been part of Tunefind, but the tool is still as useful as ever.

The Tunefind library of musical references is massive. It covers hundreds (if not thousands) of TV shows. For each series, the songs are listed by season and by episode. Some series have scene descriptions to make the process even easier. Regardless, as long as you know what you're watching, you will be able to find the track within seconds.

Tunefind is also ahead of the curve when it comes to new episodes. You can expect to see a show's latest episode go live on the site---complete with its soundtrack---within minutes of it finishing on TV.

The site also focuses on accuracy. It deploys a community voting system so that readers can confirm or disagree with the selected track. It prevents cover versions or songs with the same title by different artists slipping through the net.

Other useful features on Tunefind include alerts for new episodes of shows and movies you like, alerts for your favorite artists' songs getting featured in a video, and links to YouTube and Amazon listings for the various tracks (where available).

(NB: We've also written about how to identify music and songs in YouTube videos.)

2. WhatSong

whatsong tv songs

Another TV music finder worth checking out is WhatSong. The site is split into movies and TV shows.

Once again, hundreds of shows are available. However, during our entirely non-scientific testing, we felt that there were more placeholders on WhatSong than on Tunefind---as in, the show is listed but no songs have been added to the show/movie's profile page.

Nevertheless, for mainstream shows on the major networks and streaming services like Netflix and Disney+, most of the songs are present. Like Tunefind, you can browse by season and episode number, and many of the listed tracks also have accompanying scene descriptions. Most songs have links to YouTube, Amazon, Spotify, and Apple Music.

We particularly like the "Trending Music" section of the site. It displays what's popular right now; you'll often find the newest songs from TV shows and movies that have just aired/had a theatrical release.

If you wish, you can make an account on WhatSong. It allows you to collate your favorite tunes, shows, and movies, and interact with the wider community in the comment boxes.

3. Soundtrack.net

soundtrack music

Soundtrack.net has been online since 1997, making it another of the most long-standing services for identifying songs you've heard on TV and in movies. You'll have to forgive the slightly retro UI.

Just like the other services we've looked at so far, you can use Soundtrack.net to browse songs by season and episode.

But Soundtrack.net goes a little further than that. You can also browse by composer (for all those awesome instrumental pieces that crop up in shows), search for music used specifically in movie trailers, and search official soundtrack audio releases.

Music geeks might also appreciate the Release Dates section. Rather than putting the title of the show/movie front-and-center, it instead lists artists who have work included in upcoming new content.

The site used to have a news section. Unfortunately, although you can still browse the archives, it has not been actively updated since 2011.

4. IMDb

imdb music

We've covered the three main sites that help you find music from TV shows. For the rest of the article, we're going to briefly look at some other services you might not have considered. First up, IMDb.

Of course, IMDb is primarily known for being one of the best resources for movie and TV geeks. It features plotlines, actor lists, reviews, and trivia for almost every release you can think of. But don't forget; it also lists music---including bands, track names, composers, and more.

5. Shazam

Shazam is one of several music recognition services for smartphones. It uses music fingerprinting---whereby it records a few seconds of a track and then searches its database for a match---to provide you with results.

If you're listening to the radio, the service is hard to beat. However, it's slightly less useful for identifying music in TV shows due to background interference.

On TV and in movies, songs are rarely played clearly for a prolonged period without the accompanying noise of speech, traffic, gunshots, or something else. That interference effects Shazam's ability to record clean clips that can be fingerprinted. However, it's worth a shot.

Download: Shazam for Android | iOS (Free)

6. Adtunes

adtunes music

What about music in ads? The magic touch of advertisers often means that songs from commercials are catchier than songs in even the best TV shows.

If you're trying to identify a song from a television ad, Adtunes might have the answers. It is forum-based; ask your question and the community will try to help.

7. StreamingSoundtracks

streamingsoundtracks movie music

StreamingSoundtracks is an internet radio station with a difference. Instead of playing the usual fare of chart hits, the site only plays music from TV shows and movies.

As such, it's not the best TV show music finder if you are searching for a particular track. It is, however, a great way to hear music you may have heard on TV in the past without mentally registering it. If you like enough of the songs you hear from a specific release, it might even inspire you to watch the film or TV show in question.

Other Ways to Discover New Music

Using websites to find music from TV shows is only one of the many ways to discover new music to listen to. Here are more timeless ways to discover new music to stream, all of which should help you grow your music collection.