I love cheesecake therefore I rarely make it any more since any size recipe will only serve one - me.
That said, the first time I made (a baked) cheesecake, I used the Great Dinners from LIfe recipe. I don't recall (and I unfortunately do not have a copy of that wonderful book any more) it saying you must use a water bath at all so I have never used one. Yes, I got a few cracks on the top from time to time but, for me, that is part of the charm of a cheesecake. 
I prefer to make it in a springform pan but a cake pan will do fine too (though it is harder to get it out in one piece obviously).
When I do make cheesecake however, I don't use a recipe any more - rather, I simply imagine that first Great Dinners cake (which turned out so perfectly, it is my 'standard' ever since) and recall that it used ricotta, sour cream and cream cheese - all three. I mix about a pound or a bit more of cream cheese, a small container of sour cream and a similar size container of ricotta together with (usually 2) eggs, a bit of sugar (I don't like it too sweet so I start with about a quarter of a cup and adjust from there), a pinch of salt and teaspoon or so of vanilla (and a bit of lemon juice usually), and the final ingredient, a 1/4 cup or so of melted butter. I mix everything up till it s smooth. I taste the concoction to be sure it tastes like my taste memory - and check that the consistency is thick but pourable. I then throw it into the oven (on top of a crust of some type usually - crust varies but I have used a flourless/nut-based crust, shortbread or graham cracker conventional ones) at about 300 degrees F for an hour, turn off the oven, leave for another hour, remove from oven and set on counter for an hour and then refrigerate.
I have often also used a lower fat (but NOT fat free) cream cheese (or Neuchatel). Haven't had one 'fail' yet though I have to say that apparently there are different formulations for cream cheese and ricotta these days (or perhaps just in some areas of the country) and a few times the result has been a bit gritty in texture as (I think) because of the ingredient differences. I have also heard speculation that the 'difference' that caused the grittiness was just that one ingredient or another may have been previously frozen (either in transit or in the store - who knows).
As I said, I don't unfortunately have that Great Dinners recipe any more but it may also have used a bit of cornstarch. I had to make a cake years ago for a friend who had celiac disease so my modification for her was to leave out anything I was not sure would meet her dietary needs - so I made the nut crust and left out the cornstarch - and it turned out so well that I no longer use cornstarch, if I ever did. I have made this cake from ice cold (though of course it is easier to mix cream cheese when it is warmer) ingredients and from room temperature ingredients too - never have been really consistent about ensuring all ingredients were the same temperature - and haven't really noticed that this made any real difference in this 'recipe'.
I have found 'cheesecake' to be one of the most flexible and forgiving 'cakes' I have ever made. I know however that people are very finicky sometimes about what, for them, constitutes the 'perfect cheesecake'. I say ... experiment till you find a recipe you like and stick with it whatever it may be!
