My company makes "blue" and "Frog" tape. I can tell you all tapes are not equal. We make a lot of blue tapes. The main differences are about (aside from width and length) thickness of the crepe paper backing and the adhesive type and weight (amount). Different applications require various tensile strengths and adhesion. Temperature plays a major roll in adhesive selection. The big difference with blue vs. regular tan masking tape is that the blue's adhesives are designed to offer a very clean release.
Frog tape is dramatically different that regular blue painters tape. There is something special in the adhesive layer that causes paint to, for lack of a better word, coagulate when it comes in contact. Even on the finest of crepe papers, you get some "creep" of paint along the edge. With the Frog tape technology, you get as close to a perfect line as possible.
All duct tapes are not equal. Like the other tapes, the substrates and adhesive make or break a good tape. The Gorilla type tapes, aside form very thick and high end material backing, have a very strong adhesive and it is applied quite liberally. The cheap ones use low quality cloth and poly backers and minimal adhesive. We've all bought a cheap roll and found out the hard way why the price was so low, right?