Other openings

English is white taking a sicillian style, birds is sort of odd.  There are also d3/e3 opening.  "good" generally just means "control of the center" or at least a good fight for control of it.  Why not check out an opening database or interface to see what you like and what the odds are (the databases give % wins of known games, often in the 10s of thousands, for different lines for white, black, and draws).   For example, for birds (f4) mine says white has a 35% win vs 40% for black (rest drawn).   (that does not make it a bad opening, black is often a little behind in win chances for most openings). 

Nc3 is a fantastic move 1. In most cases, it can transition into solid e4/e5 openings or d4/d5 openings. Some players try b3/b6 with the idea of fianchettoing the bishop. (Bb2/Bb7) Of all the alternatives to the English (1.c4) these hyper modern openings are usually the most successful. Regardless, these opitions still require studying the positions and prep. What are you looking for from the opening?