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I like 1.d4 d6 . After 2.e4 it becomes a Pirc. After 2.c4 I like 2. .. e5 and see if White exchanges Queens after 3.dxe5?! dxe5 4.Qxd8+ Kxd8 , which is shown to be better for Black. Or White has to play 3.Nf3 e4 and Black has good chances of getting his play.

1.d4 e5...the Englund Gambit, my favorite...very solid from my point of view 

1. ...d6 is nothing. If white plays 2. Nf3 (preventing e5) then black should transpose into the King's Indian, or else he is simply worse. But the King's Indian isn't solid! :o

I am not saying that 1. .. d6 is the best response , but I think it is flexible if you like it. The most solid way to answer 1.d4 is 1. .. d5 , the classical approach. Then you defend this pawn with e6 and/or c6 and a Knight on f6 ( or even e7) . And you keep piling up defenses at d5 the whole game. Keep "uberdecking" it , like Nimzo said.

It is a matter of taste I guess. After 1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 Nf6 it can transpose into many different playable positions.

You are right about the "character of the game" in the lines I gave. The Pirc might be fairly solid , but the 2.c4 e5 3.Nf3 e4 line I gave certainly isn't.

I agree, the Pirc is quite solid (although fairly advanced). As far as solid responses, the Nimzo-Indian is probably the most solid out there (although you will come across the occasional psychopath like yours truly who loves 4. f3, be prepared for insanity!). The Queen's Gambit Declined is also wonderful for learning how to play closed positions. The Slav is nice for learning how to play closed positions, but it's a bit spicier! (very critical part of a lot of players' repetoire, including mine!). If you're playing for a win with black, the King's Indian is the way to go! It is a killing machine in the right hands!

The Queen's Gambit Declined offers some of the most solid lines against 1.d4

Specifically the Tartakower and Lasker variations.

@Clunney , I became a favorite of opening 1.d4 as white many years ago. I liked to torture my opponents with the Trompovski , the Torre-attack and all kind of weird stuff GM Julian Hodgson came up with. Even after 1.d4 d5 I would go 2.Bg5 and let Black sweat and take the bait. I was a mean bastard then. Now let's not scare the OP anyfurther ...

The Old Indian is rock solid bordering on dull.

I am not a Trompowsky guy, I think simply 2. ...e6 gets black a good game. My repertoire is quite fun (Catalan vs. d5, and then all of the fun sharp stuff against the various indian defenses). I've never even heard of 2. Bg5!? against 1. ...d5. Sounds quite interesting. My first reaction would be 2. ...c6 and 3. ...Qb6, or maybe 2. ...h6, and then 3. ...g5 and 4. ...Bg7. Fun stuff!

The QGD (queen's gambit declined) is certainly the most cost-efficient as a matter of theory to learn.

The Nimzo-Indian (which I play in tournaments) is positionally what the Najdorf is tactically : a maze. One misstep and you are done for if your opponent knows what to do. I like it, but I know the book. You must be prepared for a lot of different stuff. Good news is that knowing the ideas and not specific moves is enough in lots of variants, bad news is there are lots of variants and associated ideas.

The Pirc, and more generally 1...d6 2...Nf6 against practically anything, is also minimizing the book to learn for a very small cost.

Grünfeld, KID, transposing into a French all need serious book knowledge.

The Englund is certainly not "solid", it's a good try only to vindicate 1...g5 for the title of "worse move after 1.d4".

@Clunney , yep 1.d4 d5 2.Bg5 can lead to some interesting positions and I have faced all of your suggested counter meassures. The biggest trap is 2. .. c5? 3.dxc5 Qa5+ 4.Nc3 when Black can not win back the pawn. See : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QNvo0RBugs

What about 2. ...c5 3. dxc5 f6!? followed by e5?!

the slav maybe?

After 4. ...a6, white gets the advantage after c5!? or a4! Instead I prefer 4. ...dxc4, which is dead equal, or 4. ...e6, which is just plain fun.

@ Clunney , here is some 1.d4 d5 2.Bg5 c5 funny stuff : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QNvo0RBugs