In accordance with an embodiment, described herein is a system and method for color beat display in a media content environment. A media device, operating as a client device, can receive and play media content provided by a media server, or another system or peer device. A user interface enables a user to select from a plurality of displayed media options to be played at the device, wherein each media option corresponds to a media content item, e.g., a song. During the playing of a selected media content, a visual display logic or component determines an audio beat, volume, or other characteristic of the playing media content, and uses this information to modify the visual display at the user interface, to match the audio beat, volume, or other characteristic, for example by synchronizing a variation in color, brightness, scale, transparency, or intensity of a particular region of the visual display.