How far in advance of flight should I arrive at Albany Airport?

Also depends on time of day and season. Spring break or early morning - arrive 2hrs prior. Late morning or Saturday, you can cut it closer to a bit more than an hour.

I try to get there an hour and half early then chill .. once I was in the security line and getting paged and was not allowed on the flight and I could not bypass the long line .. never again

Depends if you're in TSA Precheck or not. I am and literally walked directly in, no wait. That was on a Thursday mid morning in late Jan. Obviously your wait times could differ drastically depending upon day of week, time of day, and the season. And, of course, if there are any travel disruptions. A rule of thumb is normally no less than an hour before boarding time for domestic flights. (boarding is 20 to 30 min before departure usually and most airlines close the flight 10 min prior to scheduled departure).