This sounds like an excellent project! I think you are going to have a lot of fun and learn many new skills.
You have chosen a good controller for your visualizers, PixelBlaze is the best and just keeps on getting better.
Regarding your choice of LED type, I think @ZacharyRD is correct when he recommends WS2812B LEDs. They are approximately one third the cost of SK9822’s and perform their required tasks very well. If money is no object or if you will be filming your visualizers, spend the money and go for the SK9822’s. I’ve read they are very smooth, offer more colour options at lower light levels and are also flicker-free at most shutter speeds.
I’ve built a couple of visualizers similar to those you are planning, and have found diffusion is very important. It is very hard for our eyes to look at bare or poorly diffused LEDs. One of the best diffusion materials for thin wall-hung enclosures is black LED acrylic. Here is a link to the post where I first saw how awesome this material is at diffusing LEDs.
8x8 SK9822 Matrix Through Black LED Acrylic at 17mm
Also, here is a link to the build guide I made for my visualizers, I hope it is somewhat helpful.
Build Guide for Party-in-a-Box
Have fun building your project!
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