well, apparently i was doing something wrong, but my install was apparently corrupt as well. after a purge/reinstall, i am able to add songs to a playlist that i create, and shuffle works as well. in case anybody else is wondering:
1. create a playlist by clicking the "plus" icon in playlist viewer. select the playlist
2. go to the "note" icon. find whatever you want to add to the playlist using albums/genres/artist/etc.
3. click the "list" icon next to the appropriate music. it then says "adding to playlist x"

back in the playlist viewer, your music should appear under playlist x. anyway, this wasn't working for me before the reinstall.