Sheryl Crow had high praise for the competition she beat out for her Best Rock Album Grammy Wednesday (Feb. 24) night. Greeting the press backstage after winning the award for The Globe Sessions, Crow said her album was one of many that made 1998 a good one for rock music.

"This has been an exceptional year, with a lot of albums that I have in my record collection," Crow said, "so I'm proud to be a part of that."

Wearing a slinky, body-hugging black dress and sporting a new short hairdo, Crow turned her toes inward like a shy schoolgirl while discussing her win. "It feels better to win than lose," she said about the Best Rock Album nod.

When asked what she was thinking about when her name was called for the award, Crow gave an enigmatic response. "I was thinking, 'Oh, my God, I'm so glad that Madonna was not in my seat when I was playing my song.' "

The three engineers of Crow's album also snagged an earlier, pre-Grammy-broadcast award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, for The Globe Sessions, which features the hit, "My Favorite Mistake" (RealAudio excerpt).

Crow's album beat out John Fogerty's Premonition, Garbage's Version 2.0, Hole's Celebrity Skin and the Dave Matthews Band's Before These Crowded Streets for the award.

Country superstar Shania Twain took home two golden gramophones -- Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance -- for her massive hit single, "You're Still the One." Twain emerged backstage for a post-win press conference dressed in a long white sequined dress and clutching a Grammy in each hand.

"I feel like I've come a long way ... and made a lot of accomplishments since [the release of my debut album]," she said, "and I'm starting to enjoy it more. It doesn't feel like so much trouble. I come from a real simple world, and I like it better."

Twain said winning the awards was fun, but she realized the feeling wouldn't last forever.

As for the preponderance of female award winners (Madonna, Sheryl Crow and Fugees singer Lauryn Hill won multiple awards), Twain said, "It's a sign of the times, and music is no exception. Women are rising to the top of their fields."