Crewe closed in on the second automatic promotion spot - but left Barnsley still looking over their shoulders at the relegation dog fight.
Rob Hulse hit his 27th goal of the season to help Crewe come from one down and gain all three points.
Barnsley kept the same side which won their massive showdown clash with Mansfield two days earlier and they started brightly, with Neil Austin playing particularly well against England Under-21 striker Dean Ashton.
Crewe looked dangerous through the lively runs of Steve Jones, but it was Barnsley who made the breakthrough on 32 minutes - with a helping hand from Crewe keeper Clayton Ince.
David Mulligan played the ball in to Mike Sheron and his shot come chip beat Ince but struck the inside of the post.
The ball was bouncing back out but Ince stuck out a hand and duly knocked it over the line for a bizarre own goal.
Crewe were level just 60 seconds later, influential midfielder Neil Sorvel slamming home a terrific 25-yard effort past a helpless Matthew Ghent.
Barnsley were out very early for the second half and that ploy almost paid off a minute after the re-start when Sheron wriggled his way into the box and stabbed a right foot shot inches past the far post.
But it was Crewe who grabbed the all important second goal just after the hour, a shot from Jones turning into the perfect pass and Hulse showed excellent reactions to fire past Ghent from eight yards.
Only a great tackle from Mitch Ward prevented Hulse from grabbing his second and they also needed a brilliant double save from Ghent to deny Crewe what would have been a flattering third goal.
Barnsley boss Glyn Hodges was pleased with the efforts of his players.
He said: "We played well and gave a very good Crewe side a real run for their money.
"There were a lot of good individual performances and I've told the lads not to let their heads drop. We showed plenty of guts and determination and I'm surprised we still got booed off at the end."