Last week I was inspired and, dammit, this week I'm still inspired.

It's a good thing. Like walking around on little clouds of happiness. And I have – surprisingly – Mark Zuckerberg to thank. For last week's whole inspiring story, go to the SunLive website and look under ‘music'.

As a quick recap though, the thing that inspired me about Mr Z is he sets himself a new challenge every year. Quite cool things. The goal he set himself this year is to write at least one well-considered ‘thank you' note every day via email or snail mail.

I think that's admirable, and there's something charmingly lo-fi about it. What I guess he means is the ‘thank you' notes won't be just quick posts on Twitter or Facebook. ‘Well-considered' are the words used and they don't generally apply to Facebook's scrum of cute cat pics.

So I decided on my own little goal: to listen to one album a week by someone I'd never listened to before. And, in the spirit of Mark Zuckerberg's ‘email or snail mail' dictum, those listens will be to an actual CD or full iTunes download, and will be 'well-considered”. Not just dialling up random songs I've never heard of on Spotify.

I'm into week three now and I feel inspired.

I feel inspired because all those scare stories we keep hearing, stories that the album is dead as a format, would appear premature.

I should have realised. All media thrives on anxiety, on exaggerating conflict. If there's a story, the first thing the media want is someone to disagree or condemn it. Or be offended by it.

But the album, despite what many commentators say, appears alive and well.

Perhaps that is less so in the disposable world of teenage pop music, but in the grown-up universe it's going strong.

What do I base that on? Well the latest monthly edition of ‘Uncut' has 87 new album reviews. The latest edition of ‘NZ Musician' has dozens. And the three CDs I'm looking at now, by artists I'd never heard before, are all proper albums, intended to be listened to as a whole, with ebb and flow and direction, with final tracks that aren't just the weakest song but are deliberately there to close the work. Stabs at musical art, not just disposable commerce.

And the albums? Not exactly mainstream I grant you, but next time you go on Spotify maybe you can try one of these for something different. If they're there.

Week 1: JD Wilkes & the Dirt Daubers – ‘Wild Moon'. Frantic electric blues, which starts with an absolutely filthy virtuoso harp attack. The band is heavily distorted and the mood is manic. Things go left-field with the introduction of vocals by Jessica Wilkes who has a 1950s rockabilly style. ‘Echoes of The Cramps', which is nothing but a good thing. Excellent cover design too.

Week 2: Damon Albarn – ‘Everyday Robots'. Okay, this may be cheating a little as I've obviously heard him singing with Blur. But I'd never heard Albarn solo and I'm very glad I have. This is a thoughtful, sparse, melodic album using fascinating found sounds to create rhythmic loops.

If anything you're in the same general territory as James Blake, Chet Faker, or even Lorde, though Albarn's fantastic singing is subtle and understated.

The whole thing flows beautifully. Brian Eno appears as a guest on the last song and even sings! I long ago decided I never wanted to hear Brit-pop again but this is a million miles away from that. The chirpy ‘Mr Tembo', written for his young son about an elephant, is stuck in my head. Wonderful.

Week 3: The Delines – ‘Colfax'. Never heard of these guys and to keep it pure I haven't even Googled them. A cool alt-country band with a plaintive female singer and articulate stories of small-town America and the new depression. Great production, great songs, why have I not come across them before? Really, really good.

As I said, I feel inspired again. The album is alive and extraordinary ones are all around. Hearing the variety and richness of this music makes me feel alive. And it's only the first month.