the straight map loop is the most concise, i think

The most concise solution is not always the best. Take a look at any Perl Golf contest for conclusive proof of this. :-) For example, here's another concise version:

my $newLoop;
push @{$newLoop},{PARTNAME=>$_,/$row->{title}/?(SELECTED=>1):()}
for qw(Part1 Part2 Part3);
[download]

But if I saw that in real code, I wouldn't be very happy.

plus i need to work more with some of the added list ops. i just want to extend my working knowledge of everything.

That's fine, but part of learning how to work with something is learning when not to use it. I can't say the map verion that Joost and I both came up with is the worst code I've seen, but it isn't particularly clear. So, learn how to use map, but also learn when to use something else.