+1 for Trader Joe's, although it's probably about the same price as Phillie. I've been making quite a few cheesecakes recently, and have been working extensively with the cheaper brands, especially Walmart, which I believe is about 85 cents in the 2 pack.
The Walmart cheese is definitely softer/wetter and sticks to the packaging more. For my cheesecake, I soften the cheese in the microwave to be able to incorporate it into the other ingredients. The Walmart cheese curdles about 40 degrees lower than Trader Joe's. TJ's is much more stable at higher temps.
As far as taste goes, I've tasted the cheap cheeses and the non cheap ones on bagels, and, while the cheap were still pretty good, I could taste a slight difference. The cheap cream cheese might not be worse, but it's not the same. At some point I need to blind taste them side by side..
If you're anywhere near a Wegmans, their private label might be a middle ground in terms of quality and price. I haven't tested it that much, but they seem to a do a really nice job with private label dairy.
