5 Best Song Recognition Apps on Android

Have you ever heard a song somewhere, maybe in a café, a shopping mall, or even at home while watching TV, and instantly fallen in love with its melody? Sometimes, the lyrics sound familiar, or the tune is just too catchy to ignore. But the problem is, you don’t know the title. Frustrating, right?

The good news is that in today’s digital era, identifying a song is easier than ever. Several smartphone apps can recognize a song in just seconds.

Simply hold your phone near the music, type in a few words you recall from the lyrics, or even hum the melody. And just like that, these apps will reveal the song's name and artist. So, let's explore some of the top song detection apps available for Android:

1. Shazam

Shazam can quickly identify original songs and is even reliable at recognizing cover versions. Every song you search for is automatically saved in the Library menu, so you can revisit it anytime without worrying about forgetting it.

Besides displaying the song title and artist, Shazam also provides lyrics so you can sing along. Not only that, but the app also suggests other popular tracks by the same artist. If the song you’re searching for is a hit, Shazam even offers a short clip for you to preview.

One of its standout features is offline song recognition. If you’re not connected to the internet, Shazam will record a snippet of the song and identify it once you’re back online. Super convenient, right?

Oh, and don’t forget to check out Playlist for You, a personalized playlist that Shazam creates based on the songs you’ve searched for. You might just discover your next favorite track!

Things I like about Shazam:

• Super fast and accurate, even with indie songs.
• Displays real-time lyrics, so you can sing along instantly.
• Works offline by saving song recordings.
• Provides concert details for your favorite artists, including nearby events.

One thing to note:

• Shazam only connects to Apple Music for streaming.

2. BeatFind

BeatFind is a simple and efficient song detection app. Once it "listens" to a song, it instantly displays the title, artist, and cover image. That’s it, quick and hassle-free!

Unlike some other apps, BeatFind doesn’t provide lyrics or a list of other songs by the same artist. However, it does offer seamless integration with Spotify, Deezer, and YouTube, so you can play the song right away or search for more details on Google.

Despite its simplicity, BeatFind has impressive accuracy. It can recognize a variety of songs, including live performances, covers, and indie tracks. Plus, its song database is regularly updated, ensuring it can identify even the latest releases.

Another great thing about BeatFind is its lightweight design. It takes up significantly less storage space compared to other song detection apps. So if you need a fast, no-frills song finder that won’t clog up your phone’s memory, BeatFind is a great option.

Things I like about BeatFind:

• Focuses on song identification without unnecessary extras.
• Directly connects to Spotify, Deezer, and YouTube for playback.
• Frequently updated database, making it reliable for new song releases.
• Small app size, so it won’t slow down your device.
• Allows offline song recording, find results later when you’re back online.

3. Musixmatch

If you're looking for details about a song you're listening to, Musixmatch can instantly display the title, artist, and lyrics in real-time, without the hassle of navigating through multiple tabs.

Even better, if the song isn't in English, Musixmatch provides translations so you can understand its meaning. These translations come from contributors who are also Musixmatch users, and if you want, you can contribute too.

Musixmatch isn’t just a lyrics finder, it also works as a music player. You can play songs directly from your local storage or connect it to your Spotify account.

One of its standout features is the lyric timelapse, which highlights different parts of the lyrics as the song plays. Features like this are rare, even in most music player apps.

Despite its many advantages, Musixmatch has one downside, it requires an internet connection for song detection. The only feature that works offline is the music player. So, if you're not connected to the internet, you can still use the app, but only for playing songs you already have.

Things I like about Musixmatch:

• It quickly finds songs with great accuracy.
• It displays lyrics automatically and in real-time.
• It offers lyrics translations in 60 languages.
• The music player has a unique lyric timelapse feature.
• It can access songs from both local storage and Spotify.

One thing to note:

• The song detection feature doesn’t work offline.

4. Genius

If you enjoy looking up song lyrics and want to know the meaning behind them, Genius is the perfect app for you. Originally, Genius was known as a massive lyrics database with song lyrics from all over the world. But did you know it also has a song detection feature?

Unlike other apps, Genius integrates this feature in a unique way. Instead of a dedicated search page, it places a floating icon on the home screen. Just tap the icon, and the song search page will appear.

Since Genius focuses on lyrics, it immediately displays them once a song is identified. The lyrics don’t sync in real-time with the music, but for some popular songs, Genius includes interesting trivia about their meaning.

This is where Genius stands out. It doesn’t just show lyrics, it also provides background stories about the songs, sometimes breaking them down verse by verse. What makes it even better is that some of this information comes directly from the artists themselves through exclusive interviews with the Genius team.

With Genius, you don’t just find song titles and artists, you also gain a deeper understanding of the music you love.

Things I like about Genius:

• It’s great for lyrics but also works as a song detector.
• The song recognition feature can identify indie songs.
• It provides interesting insights into song meanings.

Things to note:

• It doesn’t work offline.
• The lyrics don’t sync with the song in real-time.

5. SoundHound

SoundHound claims to be able to identify songs, even from humming. However, in my experience, it often fails to recognize songs this way.

The app’s song detection still has several limitations. It struggles to identify indie songs, covers, and especially humming. Even when I tried detecting live concert performances by original artists, SoundHound couldn’t recognize them.

It seems the app only recognizes songs based on studio recordings, and its database isn’t always up to date. When I searched for a newly released song, SoundHound couldn’t find it.

Even for songs that were a year old, it took a while before displaying the correct title and artist. It performs best with songs that are at least two years old, where the results are faster and more accurate.

One useful feature, however, is its ability to save song searches offline. If you're not connected to the internet, SoundHound can record a snippet of the song and find the results once you’re back online.

Things I like about SoundHound:

• It specializes in song detection and lyrics.
• It provides a 30-second song preview for free.
• It can connect to YouTube and Spotify.

Things to note:

• Although it claims to recognize songs from humming, it didn’t work in my tests.
• It has trouble detecting indie songs, covers, and live performances.
• The database isn’t updated frequently, making it difficult to find new songs.
• The app size is quite large for the features it offers.

Now, you no longer have to worry about finding the names of your favorite songs. These apps are ready to help you discover any song you're curious about. Have you tried any of them?