Before you get to the mix, mic selection and placement is a biggie. These two things, when done correctly will make things pop in the mix better than anything.
Assuming you've got the first part right, as mentioned earlier, volume is your friend. Especially with the automation available when using a DAW, if there's a part of a song where you want something to pop out, make it louder. If an element not a featured part, pull it back, or consider muting it. The more spare your arrangement is, the more what things are there will stand out.
I'd also recommend using LCR panning (panning almost everything hard left, center, or hard right). This will give you a wide open canvas that has more room for elements to be featured. If something isn't standing out on the left side, try it on the right. The frequency blend on that side might let the part stand out more.
Since this is Group DIY, I'd assume you've build some cool analog EQ's. If you have a high track count grab those things and really boost things until it sounds right. People who do modern mixing for a living aren't shy about using EQ in crowded mixes to make things happen. If you have a spare mix, this won't be nearly as necessary.
If you want clear and not atmospheric, don't slather everything in reverb. Maybe one element in the mix.
The last thing I'd recommend is if you want a kick or snare (or anything really) to stick out in a dense mix, run it hot through a tasty device (transformer coupled mic pre, 1176 with the compression off, DIYRE Colour, etc) to get a bit of nice distortion. Blend the distorted track with the clean track so that you can't hear the distortion, but the drum moves forward in the mix.
Have realistic expectations, only 3 or 4 things can be forward in a stereo mix at a time, and that may be pushing it.
CM