I believe that a great audio cable should be transparent/neutral and let everything through and not be a filter, given a natural and neutral sounding system. I have listened with many cables in my (high end) system to find that:
Acoustic Research (AR) Pro Series (PR130/PR131/PR132, depending on length) are good sounding cables, better than Monster Interlink 300, out of the box, and many others. Neutral, but not as smooth as HT130/HT131/HT132.
Also have AR HT130/HT131/HT132 which are smooth and warmer sounding than Pro Series with great harmonics and good bass, not fatiguing ever, but not exactly neutral, and not very lively. Tubey?
Also have AR Master Series MS230/MS232 which are a mixed bag... Not sure if they are better sounding than Pro Series or HT series. Great at decay, not as good on attack (transient) (e.g., piano). Not lively. Tubey? If the rest of your system has colorations, then it depends on your system. Good for an already bright (and aggressive) sounding system.
If your system is bright, go with HT130/HT131/HT132 or MS230/MS231/MS232... Smooth and somewhat filtered. If your system is already warm sounding, not bright, then avoid HT130/HT131/HT132/MS230/MS131/MS132 and try PR130/PR131/PR132. If your system is neutral, then use your personal and music preferences to determine which interconnect cable (PR130/PR131/PR132, HT130/HT131/HT132, or MS230/MS231/MS232) is best with your system.
Have Van den Hul D-102 MkIII (my favorite) wnich are outstanding, neutral enough, better than any AR cables in my system. Tried Kimber Hero and found them to be excellent except for the slight raspiness in vocals (in my system). Tried Analysis Plus and they were excellent overall. Tried Siltech (various models $100 to $300) and found them to be midrange happy (great) and "silvery" sounding, but not great for my system.
My system includes Bryston SP1 Preamp/Processor, Bryston 9BST THX, Infinity Prelude MTS Speakers, McIntosh MCD CD Changer, SAE T102 Tuner, and Kimber 8TC speaker cable. I own and am proud of all the above cables and components.
My criteria, as a musician (piano and sax), are based on musicality and how natural instruments sound.