My number one requirement for a cable (guitar, mic, etc.) is that the jacket be of the really rubbery type that always lies flat, is easy to coil and uncoil, and never has any bends or kinks.  I want it to behave properly.  I don't much care what's on the inside, as long as its copper.
 
The Rapco Road Hog is cheap and fits the bill.  I have no idea how it would stand up under heavy use, but for the home studio it's fine.
 
EDIT:  I haven't bought a cable in over five years so like a lot of other things, the above may no longer be true.  I'm sure these cables were nothing special to begin with, but I like them.

I've tried out many cables and not come to any insight on what's best. I do own 2 specialty cables. One is an Evidence Audio guitar cable. It is real good quality but will not last if used a lot. It's different in that it uses solid copper conductors for the signal and has an extra shield that doesn't carry signal. It's a pain to use because it wont lay flat. At $200 a pop I use it only for critical recording.
 
The other cable that's unusual is my speaker cable for the bass rig. Normally I just use lamp cord for speakers and never have issues. My bass rig uses a 400 watt EV power amp that can be bridged to 800 watts. That's a lot of power for lamp cord, so I bought a speaker cable from a company named solid. It's a huge cable with heavy conductors and I can really hear the difference in bass tone even at low volumes.

I used to wire my own cables up , not anymore …
I recently bought two Gibson Memory Cables , one I use just about everyday , the other is still new in the box …
I'm very happy with the G.M.C. on both it's main features , as a low stress recording / have a recording of everything you play cable when you switch it on , and the additional function of using it as a regular heavy-duty instrument cable .
I wish I would have gotten one of these a longtime ago ….
 
before that I used a couple of cables I've had for a while ,  general duty / OK for home use and practice …
nothing special…these still see use occasionally at home .
 
Then I have two Planet Waves cables that cost me some bucks at the time of their purchase ….
I'm just not looking to blow a Grant every time I need a guitar cable so I keep them packed away in my Live use pedal board …
They seem pretty good , I bought them for live use and I have used them only when I play out …
 
Kenny

I just bought my nephew a Rapco 15 foot guitar cable and a Hakko soldering iron.
 
I wonder what he's gonna say when I grab the cable out of his hand and cut the two 1/4" connectors off?
 
:-)
 
I also got him a handful of solder work tools/accessories and some Switchcraft 280 connectors. It turns out the cheapest way to get him a good chunk of cable to work with was to buy a pre made cable that was on sale and came with free shipping.
 
 
fixed!

mike_mccue
I just bought my nephew a Rapco 15 foot guitar and a Hakko soldering iron.
 
I wonder what he's gonna say when I grab the cable out of his hand and cut the two 1/4" connectors off?
 
:-)
 
 

Hey Mike , anybody that plays a 15 foot guitar must be pretty tall . how tall is your nephew ? 
anyway , you won't catch me trying to grab a cable out of his hand …
 
Kenny

mike_mccue
I just bought my nephew a Rapco 15 foot guitar and a Hakko soldering iron.
 
I wonder what he's gonna say when I grab the cable out of his hand and cut the two 1/4" connectors off?
 
:-)
 
I also got him a handful of solder work tools/accessories and some Switchcraft 280 connectors. It turns out the cheapest way to get him a good chunk of cable to work with was to buy a pre made cable that was on sale and came with free shipping.

That's a big guitar !
 
Nice of you to encourage your nephew.  I'm well equipped soldering-wise, but I always find soldering cable connectors tedious and tricky.  The 1/8" plugs are pain !  Doing everything just right without melting the plastic and having it still fit back inside the case is not an easy matter.  Still, I'll usually assemble my own from Switchcraft connectors and what's left of my rolls of bulk wire.
 
The fun part is adding some heat shrink tubing over the connector. I bought a bunch of diffent colours from Mouser and sometimes also add a short band of another colour just below the connector.  Handy for telling left from right.
 
                                  
 
 

:-) I better fix that. :-)
 
 
 
I really like your color coding work!