This gets asked every so often and the answer is always no...the tile is made differently. And if you have problems, you would have an expensive mess trying to remove and replace.

Using tile from Lowes would be a huge mistake. In the world of tile the stuff you see at big hardware stores is absolute bottom of the barrel - usually the stuff that was rejected or unsellable by tile wholesalers. Swimming pool tile is usually porcelain or glass, and is frost proof if you live in an area with colder winters. The top of the pool wall takes the brunt of the damage from staining as well as the most forces acting on it (which is why you need a thicker bond beam). To shortcut on this area of your pool would be a huge and costly mistake. If you have water permeating this area it will weaken the concrete underneath over time. Eventually the entire top of the wall will crack and you will be into an expensive pool rebuild.