Alt+clicking in a checkbox in the TOC's list by selection view works wonders when it works; however, it doesn't function quite the same as R click > 'Make this the only selectable layer.' The R click route works 100% of the time whereas the alt+click route only shuts off ungrouped layers. It works for turning off groups in list by drawing order, though. It doesn't seem possible to exclude grouped layers by clicking that layer's checkbox, either - it's a filled in square that doesn't react to a click.
