How to See Top Sounds on TikTok

Jumping on a trending TikTok sound at the right time can launch your video into the virality stratosphere, but finding those sounds before they've peaked can feel like black magic. The secret is that it's less about luck and more about knowing exactly where to look. This guide will show you how to find top and emerging sounds directly within the TikTok app, using the platform’s official data hub, and by simply scrolling with a strategist's eye.

Why Trending Sounds Are a Core Part of Your TikTok Strategy

On TikTok, sounds are more than just background music, they're the cultural language of the platform. Using a trending sound is like joining a massive, ongoing conversation that millions of people are already part of. The algorithm actively pushes content that participates in current trends, giving your video an immediate advantage in reaching a broader audience. It’s a shortcut to relevance, providing context, emotion, and familiarity that helps you connect with viewers instantly.

Ignoring trending audio means you're creating content in a vacuum and missing out on the platform’s biggest discovery mechanism. Think of it this way: a sound is like a hashtag that the algorithm gives even more weight to. When you use a popular sound, you’re telling TikTok, “Show this video to everyone who likes this type of content.” It’s one of the most powerful organic reach tools available, and learning to use it well is a game-changer for brands and creators alike.

Method 1: The Go-To Spot in the TikTok App

By far the simplest and most direct way to find trending audio is right inside the creation tool. TikTok wants you to use popular sounds, so they make it incredibly easy to find them. This is your first stop every time you create a new video.

The 'Add Sound' Page

This is where TikTok curates playlists of what's currently popular. Follow these steps to find gems every single time:

1. Open the TikTok app and tap the plus icon (+) at the bottom of the screen to start a new video.
2. At the very top of the camera screen, you’ll see an icon with a music note and the text “Add sound.” Tap it.
3. This opens up TikTok's full sound library. Don't get overwhelmed, focus on the curated playlists. Look for playlists with titles like "TikTok Viral," "Fresh Finds," "Trending Now," or seasonal playlists (e.g., "Spooky Sounds" in October).
4. Tap on any of these playlists. You'll see a list of sounds, often with a flame icon or an upward arrow next to them, indicating they're currently hot. The number next to each sound tells you how many videos have been created with it, giving you a quick sense of its scale.

Pro Tip: Browse the “Recommended” tab. This is TikTok’s algorithm using your personal viewing habits and niche to suggest sounds it thinks will perform well for your specific account. It's often a smart blend of broadly popular sounds and audios trending within your community.

Method 2: Using TikTok’s Trend Discovery Search Feature

TikTok occasionally gives creators a sneak peek right in the search bar. This is less an explorable section and more of a real-time signal you should train yourself to spot. It points you toward rising search terms that are tied to trends, which almost always include a specific sound.

How to Spot Rising Trends

1. From your "For You" page, tap the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner to go to the Search page.
2. Look at the list of "suggested searches" that appear under the search bar.
3. Sometimes, next to a suggested search term, you’ll see a small, fiery icon with an arrow pointing up, or a "Glimmers" icon. This is TikTok telling you, "Hey, a lot of people are searching for this right now."
4. Tap on a search term with that icon. You’ll be taken to the results page, where the top videos will almost definitely be using the same one or two trending sounds. Dive in, watch a few videos to understand the format, and you've found a trend just as it's taking off.

This method requires a little bit of pattern recognition but allows you to catch trends that are bubbling up before they’re on the main "TikTok Viral" list. It’s about spotting the demand as it’s happening.

Method 3: Go Straight to the Source with the TikTok Creative Center

For those who want to get serious about trend spotting and use real data in their planning, TikTok’s official Creative Center is an indispensable (and free!) resource. It’s designed for advertisers but is a goldmine for any creator.

A Step-by-Step Guide to the Creative Center’s Sound Data

1. On your web browser, go to ads.tiktok.com/business/creativecenter.
2. In the top navigation menu, click on the “Trends” tab.
3. From the dropdown menu, select "Songs."
4. You are now on TikTok's official music charts. Here’s how to make it useful:
   • Filter by Region: Use the dropdown menu at the top to select your target country. A sound trending globally might not have hit your specific region yet, and vice versa.
   • Filter by Time: You can select "New to Chart" or look at the last 7 or 30 days. Looking at the last 7 days is perfect for spotting what's hot right now.
   • Look for Breakouts: The list will show you the song, its rank, and a little graph of its performance. Sounds with a steep upward curve are in their growth phase - this is the sweet spot. TikTok even labels sounds that are "Breaking out."
5. Click on a sound to get more data. You’ll see its popularity over time, its audience demographics (age range), and related interests. You can even see examples of top-performing videos that are currently using that sound. It's the most powerful way to analyze a trend without guessing.

Using the Creative Center helps you move from reacting to trends to anticipating them. Setting aside 15 minutes a week to check the charts can give you enough ideas to plan a full week of relevant content.

Method 4: Become a 'For You' Page Analyst

Sometimes the best trend-finding tool is just purposeful scrolling. Your "For You" page (FYP) is a personalized trend report, but you have to know how to read it.

Instead of passively consuming content, start scrolling like a strategist. Your mission is to spot patterns. If you hear the same audio clip three or more times within a single 10-minute scroll session, you’ve likely found a trending sound. Here’s what to do next:

How to Analyze a Sound You Find in the Wild

1. When you hear a sound for the second or third time, look at the bottom left of the screen. You'll see the sound title scrolling next to a spinning record icon.
2. Tap on the spinning record icon. This takes you to the audio's landing page.
3. Look at the number at the top of this page. It will say something like, "21.3k videos." This tells you how many people have used the sound. A sound with hundreds of thousands or millions of uses is obviously massive. A newer one with 10k-20k uses but mostly newer videos could be a sign it’s a breakout sound.
4. Scroll through the top videos on this page. Are they all from today? The last few days? If so, the sound is trending now. Pay attention to the format of the videos. Is it a dance? A lip-sync? An educational setup? Understanding the context is half the battle.
5. Tap the “Add to Favorites” button so you can easily find it later when you’re ready to film.

Training your brain to spot these repetitions on the FYP is a skill that will serve you every single day. The algorithm is feeding you what's currently working, so all you have to do is pay attention.

From Finding Sounds to Building a Strategy

Identifying a great sound is the first step, but how you use it determines your success. Don't just copy what everyone else is doing, find a way to make the trend fit your unique brand or message.

• Adapt, Don't Just Copy: Take the format of the trend and apply it to your niche. If it's a "before and after" sound, show the before and after of your product working. If it's a POV trend about a relatable frustration, tie it back to a problem your audience faces.
• Timing is Everything: Act quickly. Trends on TikTok have a short lifespan, sometimes lasting only a few days. The sooner you can jump on a sound when it's gaining momentum, the better your chances of being seen.
• Sound First, Idea Second: Sometimes it’s easier to find a cool new sound and then build an idea around it, rather than trying to force a pre-planned video to fit an unrelated sound. Let the trends guide your creative process.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, finding great sounds comes down to knowing where to look and what to look for. By combining the immediate insights from TikTok’s "Add sound" page with the hard data from the Creative Center and your own pattern recognition on the For You page, you can build a reliable system for keeping your content fresh and relevant.

Once you’ve found the perfect sound, the real work of creating, planning, and publishing begins. We built Postbase to solve this exact challenge. Instead of scrambling to post every day, you can use our visual content calendar to plan your TikToks alongside your Reels and Shorts, giving you a clear view of your entire strategy. Since our platform was designed for today's video-first world, you can upload videos once and publish them natively across all platforms without worrying about formatting issues or publish failures. It helps you stay consistent so you can ride the wave of that perfect trend without burning out.