Who makes budget speaker cables which are truly “good” or “exceptional” in quality?

I have used many different cables from many companies. After over 55 years of audiophile fun and games I now use AWG10/type3-k tinned marine mains wire. Type 3 has greater strand count and k is for awg30 individual strand size. It can be had at reasonable per foot cost (under .50) and has superb audio characteristics. All interconnects and speaker wiring has only one goal, to transmit the signal with no alteration. If a connect is adding some "voice" to the sound then for me it is unacceptable.

You all have been brainwashed, imho

That's humble alright (third meaning).

There are lots of good cables out there without breaking the bank. Don't listen to anyone that says speaker cables don't make a difference or only need to be a certain guage, that's nonsense. Kimber makes great cable that gets you close to the music without edginess or fake sparkle and I use it most of the time. Anything past that level you will be spending hundreds if not thousands for a 2-5% increase in transparency and sound quality. If you don't want to spend over $100 I've found a lot of flat copper generic cable to do a good job as well but don't go with standard zip chord. Don't do it!

I have owned some pretty decent monitors over the past 10 years or so (Proac, Fritz, PMC, and currently Trenner & Friedl) and when I purchased the Proacs some one recommended Canare 4s11 and I have used that ever since with very good results.  When Fritz came to my home to drop off speakers for a 30 day trial, he approved of the Canare cable, saying “that’s good wire”.  You can purchase in bulk for about $1.20 a foot.  On eBay several sellers will terminate and sell by the foot for a higher cost.   I have read others who turn their nose up at Canare, but I have been very satisfied.