One of the best parts of Dungeons and Dragons is the ability to fully customize a unique character. Players can choose their class, race, and gender, and make an entire backstory. The Player's Handbook offers a good selection of potential races, many of which are inspired by older fantasy-like humans, dwarves, elves, and halflings (which are basically hobbits renamed because of copyright).
But while the Player's Handbook is a good starting point it only covers a few choices. There are other great options for playable races. Here is a list of some of the races that are available outside of the player's handbook. All of these choices are available through D&D Beyond, with the option to either buy a whole book or an individual section for $1.00-$2.00. Links will be provided to the appropriate pages
8 Aarakocra
The Aarakocra are a strange bird-like creatures. Their bodies are humanoid but they have the wings, heads, and talons of birds, and are also covered in feathers. They even groom their feathers in a similar fashion! They are commonly depicted resembling raptors such as eagles, owls, and hawks, but this is not a requirement. They are known to favor peace, but can be ruthless when provoked, and they also tend to live in isolated communities. It is rare for Aarakocra to directly interact with other races unless it is absolutely necessary. They also prefer being in the sky to being on land and try to only spend as much time on the ground as they have to.
The most obvious perk of being an aarakocra is the ability to fly. They have a flying speed of 50ft, well above the walking speed of most races, though this is impeded by medium or heavy armor. They also have two extra points for dexterity and one extra point for wisdom. Additionally, their talons can be used as an improvised weapon that can do slashing damage to an enemy.
Aarakocra are available for free on DND Beyond.
7 Aasimmar
Although usually born to human parents, Aasimar are distinguished from normal humans by their celestial heritage. This allows them to act as something of a contrast to tieflings, who are descended from humans corrupted by evil-aligned fiends. Aasimar, meanwhile, are blessed by good-aligned entities from the celestial plane. This race has recently gained some notoriety thanks to Critical Role, which featured the Aassimar barbarian Yasha Nydoorin as part of the Mighty Nein.
Aasimar abilities vary depending which of the three sub-races is chosen, but they get access to darkvision and a natural ability to heal others. Two of the available sub-races- fallen and protector aasimar- can produce wings that allow temporary flight. The third sub-race, scourge aasimar, can instead produce a blinding divine light that causes radiant damage to anyone nearby, though it has the downside of also damaging the caster.
Aasimar are available in Volo's Guide to Monsters.
6 Centaur
Originating in Greek mythology, centaurs are traditionally envisioned as a human torso attached to a horse's body. They have made appearances in a variety of fantasy worlds, from Narnia to Harry Potter, so it is really not surprising that they should be a playable race in Dungeons and Dragons.
Centaurs make excellent fighters and barbarians. They get an automatic strength increase and their hooves work as improvised weapons that can do heavy bludgeoning damage. There is even a "charge" ability that allows the player to combine this with a regular melee attack. The extra strength also allows them to carry more than most races. Their horse legs also allow them to run faster than most races on even ground. However, they are not well-suited to climbing, something which can actually slow down a centaur more than other races.
Centaurs are available in the Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica.
5 Goliath
Goliaths are massive humanoids known for their strength. They are one of the largest playable races in Dungeons and Dragons, easily dwarfing most others. Goliaths tend to live in isolated tribes atop large mountains, where they are driven by a competitive nature. Goliaths are known to have a constant need to outdo their own accomplishments, and many end up killing themselves in the process. But they also have a strong sense of fair play and believe a challenge is only worthy when all participants are on equal footing.
Goliaths come with an extra two points for strength and one point for constitution, plus a proficiency bonus for athletics. Additionally living in the mountains gives them resistance to cold damage. They also have the "stone's endurance" ability that can be used once per encounter to reduce damage from an enemy's attack.
Goliaths are available for free on DND Beyond.
4 Grung
The perfect race for frog lovers! Grung are frog-like creatures who thrive in swamps. They have a society built on an intricate caste system, levels of which are marked by different skin colors with gold being the highest and green being the lowest. Like many real-life frogs, grung have a poison that naturally develops in their body.
Like real-life frogs, grung are can breathe both on land and in water, allowing them to operate in both environments. However, grung become exhausted if they go a day without immersing themselves in water. Grung are small but they can jump really well, 25 feet into the air and 15 feet forward. The poison from their body can also be used against potential enemies- anyone who makes physical contact with a grung has to pass a constitution check to avoid being poisoned.
Grung are available in their own book, One Grung Above.
3 Locathah
The locothah are fish-people that look like friendlier versions of H.P. Lovecraft's deep ones. They are an especially great choice for an aquatic campaign due to their talent for swimming, but they are also capable of living on land provided the necessary conditions are met.
Locathah have the advantage of being able to breathe underwater, but their ability to go on land is extremely limited. While they are able to breathe air, they can only do so temporarily. Land-dwelling Locathah need to submerge themselves in a body of water every four hours. This unfortunately means they would not be a great fit for a campaign set in a desert. But they do have very thick skin which is good at blocking damage and advantage on several saving throws.
Locathah have their own book, Locathah Rising.
2 Triton
Tritons usually live in the depths of the ocean, where they view themselves as guardians who protect the world from underwater monsters like krakens and dragon turtles. While they may be effective at such goals, living underwater and often at depths inaccessible to other races has the effect of isolating them to the point where many on the surface are completely unaware of their existence.
Tritons have the obvious perk of being able to breathe underwater. They also automatically get the "fog cloud" spell at first level, with "gust of wind" and "wall of water" being gained at later levels. However, these spells can only be used once, and are only recharged by a long rest. Being adapted for living in the cold, dark depths of the ocean also allows them to have a natural resistance to cold damage as well as darkvision.
Tritons are available in Volo's Guide to Monsters.
1 Warforged
Warforged are artificially constructed beings made of wood, stone, and steel. Some details may vary between games but the common understanding is that they originated as experimental super soldiers during a prior war, and were left to wander when it ended. Basically, Warforged are the fantasy equivalent of robots- powered by magic instead of machinery. Warforged can come in a variety of different shapes and sizes, based on the specific function for which they were designed, but most tend to be humanoid in appearance.
Warforged have a few natural stat bonuses, including an extra two points of constitution, one extra point that can be added to any ability, and a bonus to their armor class. They also do not need to sleep, have resistance to poison damage and have complete immunity to disease.
Their biggest weakness is that they take much longer to equip armor compared to other races. This is because armor is actually integrated with their bodies, so they have to first disconnect any armor they are already wearing before installing a new set. It has the unfortunate side effect of making them more vulnerable for a time.
Warforged are available in Eberron: Rising From the Last War