I've had some interest in Shadowrun and even picked up the 20th anniversary rule book, but I've never played the game on the table top. I'm interested in possibly introducing my players to the game, but I'm wondering if the 5th edition is more friendly to new players/is more streamlined or if I'm better off saving $20 on the PDF and sticking with what I have. Can anyone with an opinion give me some advice?
I have both, but I haven't really given 5e a thorough luck yet. If I were you I'd stick with what you have and try to run a few sessions with it. Then if the guys are getting really into it and you are considering a more long term campaign you might switch to 5e. Shadowrun 4e to 5e is more like switching from D&D 3.5 to Pathdfinder, as opposed to 3.5 to 4e- the core of system is still basically the same with some significant tweaks, but not the jarring overhaul that 4e D&D got. There's some free conversion documents for it, so converting a 4e character to a 5e one shouldn't be a huge task.
My recommendation is have them work with some of the archetypes already created as a starting point for character creation. Try to run a session or two that doesn't focus too heavily on Matrix or Magic, so they aren't overwhelmed. I'd try to stay away from the conjuration rules for as long as possible because I think they are one of the most OP and broken aspects of the game. When you bring magic in try to stick with just the spell casting aspect initially (with maybe some astral recon or combat).
There's some pretty good adventure material available. The latest missions season has some fun stuff in it, and you can get them in pdf form for about $5 each on drivethru rpg. They are fun adventures that can be run in 1-2 sessions and you can string them together to create a pretty cool campaign. I ran the first 4-5 of them and we had a good time. I've been meaning to get back to running some more of them, but we've been busy with our Age of Worms and Rise of the Runelords campaigns, so I haven't had a chance. The first couple don't get too heavily into magic or matrix stuff, so they are nice ones for beginning players.
Cool, thanks for the advice!