Yes, they took it away in their infinite wisdom, along with many other things. <sarcasm>But don't worry! It'll get better with the next update!!!</sarcasm>
Oh that sucks. I can live without playlists and most of my music is synced to the cloud. But that's crazy there is no way to see the newly released albums. Yeah, it can only get better, lol.
Hey if you're looking for the hub section that shows you the albums you newly added then that isn't available in the current Xbox Music app.
However, there is an app called Album Releases which sends you notifications when your favorite artists release new albums
FWIW, on my 8.1 RT, on the standard Music app, I see New Albums listed, and an artist image slideshow with artist names and new album titles, immediately when I press Explore.