[jw_cook]

If you're willing to spend a little more for extra features, it's worth mentioning the S3 boards by Unexpected maker: https://esp32s3.com

They have some nice improvements over the generic boards you'll find on Amazon, etc., like extra flash, extra GPIO pins, USB Serial JTAG pins, multiple LDO regulators, and multiple Qwiic/Stemma QT connectors (4-pin JST PH-compatible connectors used by I2C devices made by Sparkfun and Adafruit).

[pomatic]

And really annoying physical layouts - it's impossible to get the LED arrays flush with a front panel because USB connectors etc. are significantly taller.

[IIsi50MHz]

This seems like it could be mitigated with a lightpipe, or an array of them.