A good replacement for fiber glass insulation?

I dont have the $$ to cover fiber glass insulation with dry wall on my unfinished basement ceiling. So I am looking for a replacement that can absorb sound and make it less annoying for everybody else in my house upstairs. Im still kind of confused about foam, I hear people who use it, and I hear others say its not that effective because its not nearly as dense as acoustic panels or fiber glass. But thats just what I hear. Some tips/advice would be sweet. Thanks.

Miles Park, You're confusing and mixing isolation with absorption here. Isolation increases transmission loss through the boundaries (ceiling, walls, whatever). Absorption makes the sound better in the room. Your description of fiberglass covered with drywall refers to isolation. And there is no way you can do that cheaper. One can choose different types of fiberglass where low densities will be cheaper and are in fact better for these isolation purposes. You can search for the cheapest mounting method for the drywall and so on. But there is no magic substitute. However, you will have stairs and doors, which can become a limiting factor. In addition to isolation you need absorption and so on. I think you better read a bit more in this forum or read a book like Rod Gervais's or the Master Handbook of acoustics to first get an overal view and better define your goals. And there are some sticky topics here you should read before asking questions, in order to provide people with the necessary data being able to better answer questions.