09 prius - tires / handling / Virginia weather

If you can afford them, Michelin is the best. They were the first radial tire maker. They know their stuff.
If you want LRR tires, Bridgestone Ecotopia is a great tire, too. Finally, continental tire makes very good tires, also. It all depends on what you want. I imagine that people here will have many different recommendations.

For my vehicles, I choose Michelin. We had a bad experience with Goodyear when they made the "Vector" tires. My wife had TWO tires go bad (the tread separated from the carcass).
Be sure to get an extended warranty on any tire. The roads out there are horrible. Replacing tires that you've invested in becomes costly. It's a lot easier to just go in a get another tire. That's my opinion on tires.

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Hi C'ville- I usually use TireRack.com and I decided to try the Continental True Contact which we like. The True Contact was relatively new but highly rated by most, so I decided to try it. Ideally I would have waited longer to see more reviews, but my old tires had to go. Not sure what size you have I have the regular Gen2 not the touring. Our miles per year is down so I am hoping the True Contacts can last 3-4 years.

Other popular choices are the Bridgestone Ecopia and the Mich Energy Saver A/S. There is some trade-off LRR vs. winter handling, so on paper the Conti was better in snow/ice, but not as good MPG as the other tires I mentioned.