Can aldehydes be reduced to alcohols efficiently using LiAlH4 (excluding cost effectiveness)?
Yes, $\ce{LiAlH4}$ can be used for the reduction of an aldehyde to an alcohol. Compared to $\ce{NaBH4}$ it is a stronger reducing agent due to the electronegativity differences (Pauling electronegativity of $\ce{Al}$ is 1.61 &amp; $\ce{B}$ is 2.04) making the metal-H bond more polar in case of $\ce{LiAlH4}$. Therefore, it reacts very violently with water and other acidic group containing compounds, and careful addition of $\ce{LiAlH4}$ is required. 

The mechanism is rather straightforward, with alkoxide formation and protonation steps to get the final product.



In the lithium aluminum hydride reduction, water is usually added in a second step, whereas in the sodium borohydride reduction the methanol solvent system achieves this protonation immediately.