Taking time to view each and every opening for each and every anime airing in Winter 2009, this list is not simply taken from the shows I'm currently watching. The only cutoff is that the OP has to have just begun this season.
I decided to go with 12 OPs because it was hard to cut the final two off. Even still, the OPs are only mildly good this season, nothing compared to last Fall. As always, the ordering could change on a whim, but not ranking them would be lame as hell.
12) Tower of Druaga ~The Sword of Uruk~
"Questions?" by Yu Nakamura
11) Toradora
"silky heart" by Yui Horie
10) Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger
"Hekireki" by Last Alliance
9) The Girl Who Leapt Through Space
"Rara Eve Shinseiki" by ALI PROJECT
Couldn't find video on YouTube...
8) Chrome Shelled Regios
"Brave your truth" by Daisy × Daisy
7) Munto TV
"Anemoi" by Eufonius
6) RideBack
"Ride Back" by MELL
5) Gundam 00: Second Season
"Namida no Mukou" by Stereopony
4) Black God
"Sympathizer" by Minami Kuribayashi
Couldn't find video on YouTube...
3) A Certain Magical Index
"masterpiece" by Kawada Mami
2) White Album
"Shin Ai" by Mizuki Nana
1) Maria Holic
"HANAJI" by Yu Kobayashi
Couldn't find video on YouTube...
1 Ayumi
I have to agree with you that Winter 2009 did not produce any particularly outstanding OP themes. Numbers 12, 7, 4 & 2 are among my personal favourites though. I also like Long Shot Party's Ano hi Time Machine.
2 psgels
No Birdy the Mighty Decode? That one's my personal favourite for this season.
3 Westlo
I also thought that Birdy 2 ahd one of the best ops of the season, really not feeling Index OP 2 btw.. I felt her Index ops were quite a let down compared to her first Shana 2 OP Joint, not just song wise but also the actual op sequences.
Re Michael is LoHP
@ Ayumi
"Ano hi Time Machine" was quite good too. That's kind of what I mean about this season's OPs. They were all fine, but nearly none of them stood out. That song could have easily made the list, but I had to make cuts somewhere.
@ psgels
Kind of what I said to Ayumi, "kiseki" could have easily made the list. I don't have anything against putting it near the top of the list too, that's how bunched up I feel this season's OPs are. Nothing terrible, but not much stand out at all.
@ Westlo
I do feel both "Joint" and "PSI-missing" were better than "masterpiece," which is kind of an unfortunate name for the song. Truth be told, I didn't really pick up on Index's second OP the first time I saw it, but it has grown on me surprisingly fast. That's got to count for something.
Plus, I love the animation style they use in both Index OPs. The animation (the way they cut it up) is probably why I rate that OP high this season. I even like their animation flow more than "Joint," but that had a fairly good style to it too. It's all subjective, even for an individual, as time alone can simply flip the order around!
4 Glo the Legend
Hell yes Maria + Holic has a sick OP. And Toradora is tied with my favorite show of the Winter, along with To Aru Majutsu no Index, although I liked the first OP better.
Re Michael is LoHP
@ Glo the Legend
I think Shaft (Maria Holic) -- as a studio, in general -- knows how to make awesome OPs. JCStaff (both Toradora and Index) has a good track record with OPs too. I certainly agree that Index's first OP was better, but I've warmed up to the new one quite a bit. I'm sure it being the intro to one of my favorite anime airing doesn't hurt...