So which races in 5e are the pick of the crop, and which ones are not so great?
1. DWARF: Dwarves always seem to be solid, and they're pretty solid here. A bonus to Constitution is useful for anyone, and the speed issue is slightly less pronounced than in 3.5. Mountain Dwarves, I'd say, are the slightly stronger choice: +2 to STR and CON makes for a great fighter, and access to medium armor is very helpful for classes with limited or no armor proficiency, like wizard.
2. ELF: I'm honestly not hugely impressed by elves in this edition. Dexterity is a very useful stat, but most of their other abilities seem to be there mainly because they were there in previous editions. They get proficiency in Perception, which is useful. They get immunity to sleep, which is...well, useful if someone casts Sleep on you. There's nothing BAD here, but I'm not seeing much that makes me go "Wow!" either. High Elves get a bonus to Intelligence, which is useful if you're going to be a wizard, and a free wizard cantrip, which is really more useful if you're not going to be a wizard. Wood elves have the interesting "Mask of the Wild" feature, which allows them to hide when lightly obscured and could lead to some interesting Rogue builds. Drow...how can I put this nicely? I can't. Drow suck. Sunlight sensitivity is a HUGE penalty, and in no way balanced out by improved darkvision and a couple of once a day spells.
3. HALFLING: Setting aside the truly grotesque halfling artwork that seems to be prevalent in this book (did they open up a toxic waste dump near the Shire? Does that account for the hideous mutant on page 26?) Halflings have some interesting abilities. Again, a bonus to Dexterity is always good, because Dexterity is one of the most valuable all-around stats in 5e. Lucky, though, is the real gem. The ability to reroll natural 1's on attacks, saves, AND ability checks? Yes, please. A halfling auto-fails 1 in 400 times, as opposed to 1 in 20; that's a pretty big advantage. Of the subraces, the Lightfoot's "Naturally Stealthy" ability has already stirred up a lot of argument over whether it can be used in combat or not; if so, it's very powerful coupled with the rogue's Cunning Action. The Stout's resistance to poison is nice, but hardly game-breaking.
4. HUMAN: It looks like human's still going to be the go-to choice, particularly variant human. The basic human ability--+1 to every stat--is actually quite strong, especially in a point buy system, but the variant human's +1 to 2 stats, extra skill proficiency, and extra feat allows for a much more tailored character.
5. DRAGONBORN: Okay, I'm going to say it: I don't get why Dragonborn is a base race. I never have. It seems like a highly niche race to me that doesn't fit well in every campaign. Clearly, though, a lot of people have love for the lizard-dudes. Statwise, though, they're underwhelming. +2 to Str and +1 to Charisma isn't all that useful a package, except maybe to a Paladin or a Strength-based bard. The breath weapon is, effectively, a cantrip with limited uses. Resistance to one type of energy is nice, but niche. Overall, unimpressive.
6. GNOME: Has anyone else ever felt like WotC just doesn't know what to do with Gnomes? I mean...they know what to do with Dwarves, they know what to do with Halflings, but Gnomes have always felt like they fluctuate between smaller Dwarves and bigger Halflings, except when they're embracing the "Tinker Gnome." Intelligence, sadly, is a dump stat for most classes apart from Wizard in this edition, so a +2 Int is useful for a few builds, and sub-optimal for everyone else. Gnome Cunning is actually rather nice; advantage on saving throws is important, and this makes gnomes a lot more survivable. Of the subraces, I think the Forest Gnome is slightly better. Speaking with moles isn't the sexiest ability in the game, but it's useful--quite a bit more useful than "I can make a music box or one of those annoying little monkeys that bangs cymbals together, and it lasts for a whole day before falling apart!" Seriously: if you're going to give them the ability to tinker, make it MEANINGFUL. Not "I can make one of three specific things, only one of which has any practical use whatsoever, and none of which actually last, so I can't even pick up a few silver pieces by selling them."
7. HALF-ELF: Now, half-elves seem to have gotten some love in this edition. An extra two proficient skills of your choice is a big deal in a system where most classes only GET two or three proficient skills. A total of +4 to stats is on the higher end of the scale; a lot of classes use Charisma, so a +2 there is pretty good, and the other two points go where you want them. Toss in Darkvision and the elven resistance to sleep and charm, and you have a race which is, IMO, pretty clearly superior to elf, and an all-around winner.
8. HALF-ORC: Solid. +2 STR and +1 CON isn't quite as nice as the Mountain Dwarf, but is a nice fighter-y mix. Proficiency in Intimidation is useful--extra skills are always welcome. Relentless Endurance may be the half-orc's gem ability; given how many healing abilities there are in the system, staying on your feet a little bit longer could easily get you back into the fight. Savage attacks will synergize well with a Champion fighter.
9. TIEFLING: Again, I get that a lot of people like them. Mechanically, I'm not loving them. +1 Int and +2 Cha doesn't seem like a great combination to me, given that your class is likely to rely on one or the other, not both. Resistance to fire is nice, but again, the once a day spells don't seem all that compelling to me. I think the main reason to choose a Tiefling in this edition is "I want to play a Tiefling," and maybe that's not a bad thing.
Thoughts?