Hempen rope is the standard rope. It is relatively cheap and strong, and can be found in many varieties; in elven lands, it is frequently also dyed fabulous colors (such ropes cost twice as much as regular rope). It is usually made from three strands of hemp fibers, although four-strand ropes can be found. Such rope is 133% as strong as regular three-strand rope, weighs 125% as much as normal rope, and costs twice as much. (Player's Handbook (3E), pg. 127, 128)
Silk rope is made from three strands of silken cord instead of hemp fiber. It is rarer than hempen rope and costs ten times as much, but it is 150% as strong and weighs half as regular hempen rope. (Player's Handbook [3E], pg. 127, 128)
Feywoven gossamer (also known as elven rope) is an uncommon seven-stranded rope sometimes traded in goblin markets. Made by families of elven craftspeople using patterns that have been passed down in those families for thousands of years; it is said that the manufacturing process also incorporates the hair of elven maidens, but this is likely just a rumor created by envious tradesmen. Elven rope is twice as strong as manila rope, but it costs a hundred times as much and is very rare in human-dominated regions. (Arms & Equipment Guide, pg. 22, 24; Player's Handbook [4E], pg. 212)
Ephemeral shroud is a kind of cordage said to be woven on the Astral Plane. Made from five strands of silvery material and woven in a complex pattern that resembles the ropy forms sometimes taken by cosmic gas clouds and nebulae, ephemeral shroud is half as strong as regular manila rope, weighs half as much, and typically costs fifty times as much. However, ephemeral shroud is said to be able to bind ghosts and other intangible creatures; when used to do so, it operates as if it were five times as strong as hempen rope. It is also rumored that tying ephemeral shroud around one's body using particular knotwork will prevent the wearer's body from being possessed; the exact knotwork required varies depending on the teller of the tale, but such a harness generally requires at least a hundred feet of rope to cover a Medium sized creature. (Player's Handbook [4E], pg. 212)
Flameforged hawser is a braided three-ply metal cable frequently found on the efreeti vessels that sail the Sea of Fire near the City of Brass. Constructed with fibers made a variety of metals not found on the Material Plane, its manufacture requires enormous strength to turn the crank on the rope-making machine. While the efreeti possess enough strength to accomplish this task, they prefer to make use of slaves walking in treadwheels in groups who are worked until they perish. As a result, flameforged hawser is rarely found in markets at a cost less than two hundred times the cost of normal rope, weighing five times as much as hempen rope and with a strength equal to heavy metal chain but with far more flexibility. (Adventurer's Vault, pg. 6)