In reply to fenski:
Paul's advice is good - use a shorter and cheaper rope for indoors, and save your better, longer and more expensive rope for outdoors. Also, as mentioned the black stuff comes from the metalwork and is only indirectly due to the roughness/handling of the rope.
In general, dry treated ropes will always handle and last much better.
However, the new UIAA dry standard is very demanding so ropes now tend to split much more dramatically between cheap non-dry ones and really expensive UIAA dry ones. Mid-priced ones with sheath only treatments that give better handling (and limited water repellancy) that would previously have been a popular choice, don't tend to be as widely available any more. (Although as TJB says, Mammut still do their Protect treatment if you can find them in stock.)
Mammut ropes vary massively. The basic ones always tend to have stiff handling (although they tend to be durable), however the top of the range UIAA dry rated ones like the Serenity are utterly superb.
The same is true to a lesser extent with Beal. The excellent value Karma (as sold by GoOutdoors) isn't amazing but most other Beal models tend to have really good handling.
Other manufacturers' basic ropes often tend to be slightly less stiff and better handling than Mammut but it does varies especially with Decathlon/Simmons where reviews seem to oscillate from dire to amazing.
FWIW, I've a short length of Edelrid rope which I think is their Anniversary model which is utterly superb. However, at full price for 60m+ it's not cheap.
In short, if you want good handling you'll probably need to pay more or quickly buy the same as a partner's rope that you've decided you like before the model is changed or replaced.
