Notes

Roth conversions are super interesting... You can do them even if you max out your Roth IRA every year as there is no limit on Roth conversation though you do have to pay taxes on the amount as ordinary income, preferably using non retirement funds, so it's better to do when the market is down, you lost your job or are on sabbatical. To minimize taxes you also should spread the conversation over many years, as you really want to keep in the lower tax brackets. But if you're thoughtful it's very easy to do - often just a few clicks of a mouse.

Traditional retirement accounts and IRAs can be bad in the sense you have RMDs which old people obsess about because they suck as they require you to withdraw money and pay taxes at forced intervals and such accounts including their capital gains are taxed as ordinary income. Major bummer! The more you can do as Roth initially or convert to Roth before you get close to retirement the better but then you have a higher tax bill on income which usually is higher now then in retirement.