Top 50 Jewel Songs: A Journey Through Folk and Pop Brilliance

May 2024 · 9 minute read

When singer-songwriter Jewel Kilcher burst onto the scene in 1995 with her debut studio album, Pieces of You, which instantly became a massive hit and projected the Alaskan native into stardom. And for the next 15 years, she released multiple albums and singles that were all commercially successful. 

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Her Folk and Soft Rock/Pop sound began to develop in the early 2000s into something a bit edgier and dance-inspired. Therefore, the top 10 Jewel songs are a mixed bag of styles. She changed and evolved so much over the years. 

And, although she will always largely be remembered by her 1990s stuff, she still had some mega hits from 2000 to 2010. Here are some of the best Jewel songs of all time that epitomize her style and sound. 

Top 10 Jewel Songs

50 Best Jewel Songs of All Time

1 You Were Meant for Me

“You Were Meant for Me” is one of Jewel’s most famous songs. It was initially released in 1996 as the fifth single from her debut album, Pieces of You. That album produced several Pop classics that cemented her as a major star and one to watch for the future. This beautiful song is largely an acoustic folk affair that is soft yet inviting and very easy to listen to.

It became her first-ever #1 hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts. And it even made it to #2 on the Hot 100 Billboard Charts. In short, it was a gigantic hit across North America that did a lot to expose her to the wider public.

2 Who Will Save Your Soul

Sweet, soft Pop-Rock ballads are what she did best in the 1990s. “Who Will Save Your Soul” is one of Jewel’s signature songs that still gets played on the radio today. When it came out in 1998, it performed very well on the US charts. It was her first ever Top 20 hit that peaked at #11 on the Hot 100 Billboard Charts and attracted a lot of new fans.

For many people, this was the first time they’d heard her music. So, it’s a very important song for that alone. It doesn’t have the most complicated lyrics, but it sounds good and is easy on the ears. In other words, a very inoffensive Pop-Rock song that was ideal for impressionable young teens.

3 Foolish Games

“Foolish Games” is that Jewel track that you didn’t realize was her. It got so much heavy rotation and radio play back in 1997 that you couldn’t escape its clutches. This song helped her to get a load of loyal fans to the point that it was almost a cult following. 

It was the second single from her debut album. So, at the time, she was fairly unknown and still trying to make a name for herself in the Pop Music world.

Shortly after its release, it peaked at #2 on the Hot Billboard Charts in the US and hit the top spot on the Billboard Adult Airplay charts. “Foolish Games” has become a cornerstone of her back catalog. Twenty-five years later, it’s still loved by her fans and is one of the most popular Jewel songs ever written.

4 Intuition

Although Jewel’s 1990s offerings have been at the top of this list, it’s time to pay homage to her “newer” stuff. “Intuition” was released in 2003 from her 0304 album. The album represented a new and fresh sound for the songstress. It sounds more electronic and more dance and R&B-inspired than her earlier stuff. But, at the time, Pop Music was changing, so she had to evolve to stay relevant. 

“Intuition” was the first single from 0304, and it did very well commercially. It peaked at #1 on the US Hot Billboard Dance charts and had solid sales all around. The single went Gold, and it was the last time that she achieved that accolade as her career started to move into its twilight years. 

I liked the change in sound. But, the problem was that many other female vocalists at the time had already taken over that spot in the Pop industry. 

5 Standing Still

“Standing Still” had traces of her Soft Rock style and a taste of the Dance Pop-inspired tracks that she would go on to make during the early 2000s. The track was a single released in 2001 from her This Way album. That album showed a different slant to her music and overall vibes. She released four singles from that album, and they all performed well in terms of sales and chart positions.

“Standing Still” peaked at #25 on the Hot 100 Billboard charts, so it did relatively well. It might not have reached the heights of her earlier stuff, but in the grand scheme of things, it was a very solid hit. At the time, some of her fans were not impressed by the change in sound. But you cannot remain still in the Pop Music industry. 

6 Hands

If Jewel’s songs from the 2000s are not your bag, you probably like her original style of songs. And, if so, you probably love “Hands.” My list is filled to the brim with this type of track. It’s pretty much what made her name and gave her the niche she needed to become successful. “Hands” is not a complex track that will bamboozle you with depth. Instead, it is laid-back and will soothe you like a feather pillow.

The song was released in 1998 as the first single from her Spirit album. And because of that, it did well on the commercial front. It peaked at #6 on the Hot 100 Billboard chart, which was her third consecutive Top 10 position. This was at the height of her success as she broke away from her first album to make a sound that was a bit more mature. 

7 Down So Long

“Down So Long” was another hit from her 1998 Spirit album. It was the second single from that album and is a firm candidate for this top 10 Jewel songs list. The single did okay, but not as well as some of the songs that came before. It did reasonably well on the Hot 100 billboard chart by peaking at #59. But it didn’t take the world by storm in a commercial sense.

That said, sales and chart positions are not always the telltale signs of a great song. And, in my opinion, this one is underrated. Most of her fans already adore this track because it’s so soulful and emotional and epitomizes what she was all about as an artist.

8 Stronger Woman

Although Jewel is widely known for her Soft Rock vibe, she did release a few tracks that had a Country Music sound. “Stronger Woman” is one of those songs, and it really benefited from that sound. It was the first single from her 2008 album entitled Perfectly Clear, which was like a new birth for her career at the time.

The single did quite well on the charts in comparison to her music from the past couple of years before. It peaked at #84 on the Hot 100 Billboard charts and reached an impressive #13 on the Country Charts. 

9 Stand

“Stand” was a single from her 0304 album in 2003 and was a controversial move away from her Folk and Soft Rock singles at the time. When the album with this new musical style was released, it was a massive shock for some of her earlier fans. But, they got over it. The album was essentially a dance music record, and not many were ready for that swift change with hardly any warning.

I remember thinking it was a gutsy move from her at the time, and I supposed it paid off in many ways. Although, I am not sure she kept all of her original fans after the change in musical direction. “Stand” peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Dance Music charts, so that should tell you something.

10 Stay Here Forever

I wanted to end this list by talking about some of her later music. “Stay Here Forever” was the first single from her 2010 Sweet and Wild album. It was another Country Music-inspired song that didn’t chart so well in traditional Pop Music markets. But it was still pretty successful across the board.

It reached #34 on the US Billboard Country Music Chart and showed her wide range of musical styles. By this point, Jewel wasn’t the Pop Star she once was, but her music was still great and garnered lots of interest from her loyal long-time fans. 

11Goodbye Alice in Wonderland

12Morning Song

13Jupiter

14Break Me

15Life Uncommon

16Do You Want to Play?

17Angel Standing By

18Near You Always

19I’m Sensitive

20No Good in Goodbye

21What You Are

22Jesus Loves You

23A Boy Needs a Bike

241000 Miles Away

25Little Sister

26Gray Matter

27This Way

28Sometimes It Be That Way

29Fragile Flame

30Leave the Lights On

31Serve the Ego

322 Become 1

33Ten

34Deep Water

35Dreamer

36Rosey and Mick

37I Won’t Walk Away

38Anyone But You

39What’s Simple is True

40Just Passing Time

41Simple Gifts

42Painters

43Raven

44 Foolish Games (Remix)

45 Adrian

46 Stephenville, TX

47 Love Used to Be

48 Everything Reminds Me of You

49 Love is a Garden

50 Another Morning

Want More Great Songs by Female Singers?

Well, check out our thoughts on the Best Alanis Morissette Songs of All Time, the Best Sarah McLachlan Songs of All Time, the Best Stevie Nicks Songs of All Time, the Best Songs By Celine Dion, the Top 10 Carpenters Songs, and the Best Olivia Rodrigo Songs of All Time for more incredible song selections.

50 Most Popular Jewel Songs – Final Thoughts

Even if you weren’t a Jewel fan, she deserves lots of credit for making the most of her career. My list of Jewel’s Top 10 songs goes to show that she wasn’t scared to overhaul her style to try something new. Sometimes it worked, and others, it didn’t, and that’s the name of the game. But, in the grand scheme of things, her career was a very successful one.

She might have been better off staying in her Soft Rock/Folk niche. But you have to evolve as a musical artist or get left behind. Although her music in the 2000s was still commercially viable, it’s her 1990s music that fans still remember the most. And what she is known for today.

Until next time, happy listening.

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