Declarative variable names make for such readable code!

pluck.js

function pluck (a, prop) {
  return a.map(function (a) { return a[prop]; });
}

where.js

function where (a, matches) {
  var of = Object.keys(matches);
  return a.filter(function (a) {
    return of.every(function (prop) { return a[prop] === matches[prop]; });
  });
}

Basic Usage

var thing = [{ name: 'Obtuse' }, { name: 'Cool' }, { name: 'Doge' }];
var names = pluck(thing, 'name');
// ['Obtuse', 'Cool', 'Doge']

Composition

var thing = [{ name: 'Obtuse', index: 5 }, { name: 'Cool', index: 2 }, { name: 'Doge', index: Infinity }];
var index = pluck(where(thing, { name: 'Doge' }), 'index');
// <- [Infinity]