.uniq/.unique accepts a callback
var list = [{a:1,b:5},{a:1,c:5},{a:2},{a:3},{a:4},{a:3},{a:2}];
var uniqueList = _.uniq(list, function(item, key, a) {
return item.a;
});
// uniqueList = [Object {a=1, b=5}, Object {a=2}, Object {a=3}, Object {a=4}]
Notes:
Another example : using the callback to extract car makes, colors from a list