There are a number of different ways to do something like what you'be described. In addition to the above:
PCB and SCH filter panels are very flexible, but a bit cumbersome.
The filter toolbar in the PCB editor gives you three dropdowns, one to select by designator, another to select by net, and another that gives you a list of recently used filter queries. It's really just a set of shortcuts into the PCB Filter system.
The PCB panel lets you drill down by class into nets, components, 3D bodies, etc.