Thank you for reaching out to ask2.extension.

The Fat Albert blue spruce is susceptible to the diseases that are ravaging  pthe spruce, but if you only plant one or so as a specimen tree, the chances are less than if planting a number of spruce.

Here are some alternatives to blue spruce: concolor fir (Abies concolor)*; eastern white pine (Pinus strobus); Norway spruce, (Picea abies); baldcypress (Taxodium distichum); Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis); Serbian spruce (Picea omorika); Korean fir (Abies koreana); European larch (Larix decidjam; Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii); Alaska cypress (Callitropsis nootkatensis; syn. Cupressus nootkatensis, Chamaecyparis nootkatensis).  

Be sure to read up on the trees to see if they would fit your zone and what you are looking for.